


The Red

by ArielleLS



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-01
Updated: 2015-10-24
Packaged: 2018-02-03 01:53:02
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 38,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1726790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArielleLS/pseuds/ArielleLS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Minecraft/Medieval AU<br/>(Phase I)<br/>From day one, Gavin Ramsey was warned by everyone in the Ramsey Kingdom to stay away from the Claw. If you ever saw the symbol, you would be dead. Bad things came from the Claw and what it represented. It was the markings of the Mad King. Only the markings of his father’s kingdom were safe.<br/>He shouldn't have run. He wasn't safe. He was in the Haywood Kingdom now.</p><p>(Phase II)<br/>Gavin understood.<br/>He understood bloodlust, the crazy twinge in Ryan's eye. They'd both seen the red; they both understood.<br/>The Mad King cocked his head and raised his arms. "All hail Prince Gavin." </p><p>Mad King - what a truly fitting name.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue (Part 1)

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to lovely [fuckmogar](http://www.fuckmogar.tumblr.com) on tumblr for sending me an AO3 invite :) Go on ahead and follow me at consumer-of-pumpkins on tumblr if you want, idk.

"Michael, that’s not fair!" Gavin squealed as Michael tackled him to the ground.

"You’re it!" Michael laughed and launched his body up to run from Gavin.

Mornings like these were Gavin’s favorite. When the sun colored the kingdom with a beautiful hue in the morning light, and it was too early for people to be up, but too late for mobs to attack.

"Michael! Come back!" Gavin screamed and chased the ten year old around the courtyard.

Before he even realized what had happened, Gavin was down face first on the grass.

"Gavin?" Michael said, jogging back to check on the younger boy.

"I’m okay," he grinned, picking himself up from the lush lawn and wiping at his pants. "I’m a klutz." A lazy smile spread on his face.

"No, you’re an idiot," Michael disagreed, lying on the grass near Gavin.

Gavin laid back down on the grass and closed his eyes. He wished everyday was like this. The wind blew through his hair and the sun warmed his skin. It was so peaceful.

He wanted to stay like this forever.

Gavin Ramsey and Michael Jones had been friends since before the boys could remember.

When Michael was only six, he lost his parents to a creeper attack. His family being so close to Geoff and Griffon, the two decided to give him a home. Neither acted like parent a towards the young man - they had their own son two years younger to worry about - but like best friends.

"Gavin?" A voice called from across the courtyard. He turned to see his father with his arms crossed by the gates of the castle. A grin spread over his face at the sight of the two boys. His mustache was unruly due to it being so early in the morning.

"Geoff!" Gavin screamed, and ran to tackle his father in a hug.

"Well good morning to you too, buddy," he chuckled, running a hand through Gavin’s hair. He could feel the wrap on his hand from his most recent tattoo - a lion roaring. It was the symbol of their kingdom, and only the king was to have it tattooed on his body. 

He doesn’t remember why he calls his father by his name. It just seems natural to the two. 

Gavin basked in the attention his father was giving him. He was never home anymore - being a king included a lot of traveling.

"Hey, let’s go inside, okay bud? You can play with Michael when we’re finished."

Gavin nodded and turned to wave at Michael, who just grinned and stuck out his tongue.

Little did Gavin know, that was the last time he’d see his best friend for years.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Gavin," Geoff sighed and sat on Gavin’s bed when the two were alone. "I have some upsetting news."

Gavin frowned but nodded his head, cuing his father to continue.

"Your mother and I are going to be gone for a few weeks," he said, lifting his eyes to meet Gavin’s. "Burnie asked that we come to his kingdom immediately. It’s something that we can’t miss."

Gavin nodded his head again. Why was he expecting anything else? They did this all the time. Griffon and Geoff were never there anymore. It’s like they forgot they had a son at home.

So why was it such a big deal? The only difference this time was that it was his bir-

 _Oh_.

His heart throbbed with abandonment. Did he even matter to them anymore?

"You’re going to be gone for my birthday?" He whimpered, tears welling in his eyes.

"I’m sorry, Gavin," he murmured. "I promise we’ll make it up when we get back."

When the first tear fell, that’s when Gavin turned his pain to rage. “How could you? It’s my damn birthday! Fuck you, Geoff!”

Gavin wasn’t usually the type to get angry and yell - that was Michael’s job.

"Don’t talk to me like that, Gavin. You’ll be fine. Jack will watch you," Geoff said in a calm tone. He reached out a hand out to place on Gavin’s shoulder, but the boy turned away.

"Don’t touch me!" he screamed, stomping his foot and crossing his arms. "How could you?"

Geoff groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Not again, Gav."

"Yes, again!" Gavin screamed. "You always do this! You’re never here! It’s like you forget I exist!"

"Stop acting like such a child, Gavin!" Geoff yelled in return, standing up to tower over Gavin. "You’re eight, not four! You know we love you!"

"I’m not a child, Geoff! I can take care of myself! I have to, since you’re never here to do it yourself!”

"Oh yeah? I doubt it. You couldn’t even last a single day on your own. You’d come back crying for help." Geoff scoffed and stomped towards the door, annoyance lacing his voice.

"I’ll show you, Geoff," he whimpered. "I can live on my own without you."

Geoff sighed and turned to face Gavin. “I want you to stay in your room today. I’ll see you at dinner.”

Geoff gently closed the door behind him.

Gavin couldn’t do it. He could live here any longer. He had to get out.

He waited about ten minutes before reopening his door and silently slipping out.

"Goodbye, dad," he whispered to no one.

Gavin was only able to sneak his way down the large staircase before he was caught.

"Gavin?" One of Geoff’s soldiers said. "We’ve been given specific orders to not let you leave your room."

Gavin didn’t need to hear another word. He sprinted through the front gates of the castle and through the courtyard, the guards hot on his trail.

Adrenaline filled his veins as he weaved through houses and marketplaces, avoiding the troop of guards following him.

He sprinted until his chest burned and begged for oxygen, and then ran some more.

When he reached the outskirts of the city, he looked back to see that the guards gave up. He grinned and jogged until he was running into a dense forest with thick leaves.

When Gavin was sure he was far enough away from the kingdom, he finally stopped to take a breath. He gasped for breath between laughs.

A spider cocked his head at him in the distance, but kept his distance from the young boy.

"Yes!" Gavin screamed. He’d never felt like this before. His body was on fire and his skin tingled with excitement. The wind that warmed his skin shook the leaves around him. They ruffled together like an applause for his victory. 

He was out. He was free. He was going to prove to everyone that he could make it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin’s regret begins to sink in when the sun goes down and darkness spreads over the land in a thick blanket.

The forest was much different without the presence of the sun. The lively chirping of the birds in the shimmering leaves was replaced with melancholy  _hoos_  from the owls lurking in the shadows.

A creeper’s clicking could be heard in the distance; a skeleton’s bones rattling and the vicious hissing of a spider echoed between the trees.

The wind that once warmed Gavin’s skin now turned to bitter ice, whipping the shivering boy’s skin with every lash. The cold shook him to the bone.

_I’m going to die._

Sometime during his adventure, Gavin had gotten turned around. He didn’t remember which way his home was, and he couldn’t tell which direction the sun was setting due to the dense foliage.

The only company he had was the crunching of leaves under his dragging feet as he marched further and further into uncharted territory.

He was lost. He was  _alone_. He just wanted to go home.

 _Home_.

Gavin scoffed to himself through shivers at the word. Did a “home” have a mother and father that were never home? Did a “home” mean loneliness and constant teasing?

If that was what home was, then Gavin wanted no part of it.

The night grew darker and his heart cracked with every step. His weary body longed for rest, warmth, _anything_  - but there was nothing.

He had lost all hope.

That is, until he saw a faint glow of orange light in the distance.

Gavin’s face lit up.  _Warmth_. He sped as fast as his tired legs would take him, until he could make out the scene lit by torchlight.

Six guards in shining armor each held a torch, their laughs just loud enough to be carried to Gavin’s ears.

The boy’s face split into a grin. Maybe he’d started his way back home. Mayve they could help him find his way back to the kingdom.

But before Gavin could call for help, he spotted a badge on one of the guards arms.

_An eagle’s claw slash._

Gavin’s eyes widened and he covered his gaping mouth.

From day one, he was warned to stay away from the Claw. If you ever saw the symbol, you would be dead. Bad things came from the Claw and what it represented. It was the markings of the Mad King.

He was in the Haywood kingdom now.

When he got a closer look, he realized all the warning signs that he couldn’t see before. Each guard donned dark blue armor with blood red markings; the colors of the Haywood kingdom.

Gavin shuddered. His da-  _Geoff_ , he reminded himself, had warned him to stay away from The Mad King’s territory at all costs. King Haywood was a cold blooded murderer. He made his way to the throne through bloodshed and betrayal. He had no compassion, and would stop at nothing to see death by his own hand.

But Gavin was lost, and he was sure he’d die out here if he didn’t have some kind of help. So, before he could change his mind, Gavin leaped from the bush he was hidden behind and put his hands to his mouth.

"Hey!" he called out the guards. "Over here!"

The guards’ heads snapped towards Gavin. His blood turned to ice, but he shoved the feeling to the back of his mind.

The guards jogged to where Gavin stood and narrowed their eyes.

"Who are you, and what are you doing out so late, kid? It’s not safe," one of them said.

Gavin gulped and drew his hands back down to his side. Maybe announcing that you’re the son of another king wasn’t the greatest idea.

"I… Uh…"  A bead of sweat trailed down his neck.

_Remember what your father - Geoff - told you._

Gavin straightened his back and cleared his throat. “I am Gavin Ramsey, son of Geoff Ramsey.”

A few guards gasped. Sentences like ‘I knew I recognized him!’ and ‘what is he doing here?’ bounced throughout the group.

Gavin’s regret sank back into his stomach.

"Take him to Ryan," the guard closest to him said. "Ryan will know what to do."

Gavin smiled slightly at him and shivered again as the sweat on his neck seemed to freeze. He had no idea who Ryan was, but if it could help him get home (or warm), then he didn’t care.

The first guard’s eyes widened and he took Gavin’s hand. “Come on, kid, let’s get you to Ryan.”

Gavin was led through massive gates that adorned the giant cobblestone wall. Gavin thought obsidian would’ve been better, but he kept his mouth shut.

For the lack of a better word, the kingdom was  _huge_. As far as Gavin could tell, there were no slums or poor beggars. Smiling children laughed and screamed as they played in the streets. Why were they out so late? Didn’t the children here have a curfew? It wasn’t safe!

The kingdom was much smaller than his own, but the city looked much happier, albeit darker.

They approached a massive building surrounded by guards, adorned with banners of the Claw.

This must be the castle. But why were they here? It never crossed his mind that Ryan might live in the castle. Worry flooded his mind.

The group of seven climbed the biggest staircase Gavin had ever seen - it was much bigger than the one at home. He counted 236 steps. They were made if iron, and each step was lined with gold. Gavin struggled to find his breath as they climbed.

By the time the group entered the main door, he was gasping for air.  

"Wait here," one of the guards whispered to Gavin.

Gavin slowly nodded his head, dumbfounded by the beautiful room in front of him.

Unlike Geoff’s throne room, this one was  _enormous_. He was used to throne rooms being rather small and cozy, but this one was giant. Don’t get him wrong, Geoff’s throne room was decently sized and was obviously fit for a king, but this was something else entirely. 

The ceiling was made of thousands of pieces of glass. Blood red carpet led to a vacant gold throne.

Gavin only cared that the room was warm and bright. He was finally out of the cold.

"My king," the guard knelt. "Do you have a moment?"

A young man in about his 20’s turned around to face the group.

If Gavin thought that he’d felt breathless before, then he must be dead by now. 

The man stood tall with a broad chest and strong jaw. His blue eyes twinkled in the well lit room, a bright smile etching its way on to his face. On his neck, he had eagle claw marks tattooed in blood red. But that didn’t make sense. Only the king got the coat of arms tattooed…

Gavin’s face fell when he saw the crown sitting crooked atop his head.

"Don’t kneel, soldier," he grinned, "You know I hate it. But, yes, I do have a moment." The Mad King’s words echoed through the nearly empty hall. "I was about to head off to bed, but I have time."

His sultry voice stirred something within Gavin. He didn’t recognize it, but it wasn’t unwelcome. It made warmth spread throughout his body.

The guard rose and took Gavin by the arm, nudging him forward.

Gavin had no idea what was going on. They said that they were going to go see someone named Ryan, not the god damned king! His stomach filled with dread once more; maybe this was the plan all along. Perhaps they had led him to his own death.

"This is Gavin Ramsey, Ryan," the guard said, pushing Gavin forward and stepping back to kneel. "He was wandering outside the gates. We have no idea how he got here, or why. We suspect he may be a spy, but it’s unlikely."

Gavin was frozen with fear as he looked up at the king before him.  _No!_  That wasn’t it at all!

That’s when it clicked in his mind - Ryan was King Haywood.  _Ryan_  Haywood.

He was ab-so-lutely  _fucked_.

The king quirked an eyebrow at the young boy frozen before him. “Oh?” With one glance the shaking child, his gaze softened and his smile returned.

"You have done well. You can go back to your night duty now.” He looked around the throne room at the various soldiers guarding the room and servants cleaning up after a long day. “You may all go home now,” he said, smiling at the workers.

The workers and guards filed out through the front door, closing it behind them with a loud thud that echoed through the now empty room.

Gavin squeezed his eyes shut, fists balled up at his sides. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to wake up from this whole nightmare. His nails dug into his palms until they nearly drew blood. The only reason they were alone was so Ryan could kill him. He could kill him so easily - Ryan was so much bigger than him, and at least 12 years older.

"Thank god they’re gone," Ryan chuckled. "I hate that ‘prim and proper’ facade."

Gavin stayed silent. Footsteps echoed through the room as Ryan approached Gavin.

He flinched when a warm hand was placed on his cheek. Ryan stilled his hand but stroked the skin under is hand with his thumb. “Hey, now, there’s no reason to be scared. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Gavin melted into the warmth of the hand and slowly relaxed his face. He let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

Ryan laughed again and placed his other hand on his shoulder. “You must have come a long way to end up here.”

"Yes, I-I did, sir," he stuttered, slowly opening his fearful eyes to see Ryan’s bright blue ones fixed on his face with a loving gaze.

"Don’t call me sir. I hate that. Makes me feel old. I’m only 25!"

Gavin laughed and relaxed his body. Ryan really wasn’t going to hurt him. But he was 17 years older than Gavin? He’s older than he looked.  

When Gavin didn’t say anything, Ryan continued. “So. Gavin Ramsey, huh? This sounds like an interesting story. Care to share?”

Gavin tried to open his mouth to speak, but no words would come out. His mind was flooded with memories of the morning that felt like an eternity ago, and tears welled in his eyes.

"I… fuck," he whispered. "I don’t have anywhere to go," he realized.

And with that, he burst into tears.

His body was roughly pulled into a hug. Ryan’s arms wrapped around him and his own inconveniently large nose buried into Ryan’s chest.

Ryan sunk the two down to the floor so that he could be closer to the broken boy.

Ryan rubbed Gavin’s back and whispered comforting nothings into his ear. “It’s okay, Gavin. I’m here. You’re safe. It’s okay.”

When he was finally able to pull his face away from Ryan’s chest, he wiped his eyes and sniffed. ‘“M sorry,” he mumbled, a blush rising on his cheeks.

He was such a fool. How  _embarrassing_  it was to cry like a baby when he first met the King of Madness. Geoff was right. He  _was_  a baby. He’d never been more embarrassed.

"So," Ryan said, clearing his throat. "Are you ready to tell me the story?"

Gavin inhaled and exhaled slowly. He could do this. “Yeah,” he whispered.

So he did. He told Ryan every detail of his morning, from playing with Michael, to getting teased, to getting yelled at, to running away, to feeling unwanted. To getting lost in the woods, and how he ended up here (surprisingly) alive. And, of course, how he had no idea that this was the Ryan Haywood.

Ryan kept his comforting arms around Gavin the entire time.

"So Gavin Ramsey is no longer a Ramsey," he said, pulling Gavin back to meet his eyes. "As well as it should be."

"What’s that supposed to mean?" Gavin cocked his head, head pounding from the crying he’d done. "They’re still my f-family, right?"

"The Ramsey’s are liars, my Gavin. They live a lie. They claim to be open minded and loving, but really only care about gold and royalty. Would you like to be part of that family? Tell me, how many lies has dear Geoff spat to your own ears? To his own son?”

Gavin shook his head and frowned. Geoff and Griffon couldn’t be liars, could they be? Yet again, they’d told lies about Ryan…

"They said you were insane," he mumbled. "That all you cared for was blood and you killed your way to the throne. They said that you had no compassion.

Ryan frowned and held Gavin’s face in his warm hands. His blue eyes made Gavin’s heart melt and stomach fill with that  _feeling_  again. He was overwhelmed under Ryan’s intense gaze. “They’re liars, Gavin,” he said. “Admit it.” Ryan’s fingers trailed across Gavin’s back, barely touching , but still there.

Gavin tried to think of all the things his family had told him, but he couldn’t quite focus. How many of those things were lies? Has he been living a lie too? He was too lost in thought and Ryan’s touch to say anything.

"Think about it. They’d said you weren’t ready to go alone, and that you’d come running home, did they not?" When Gavin nodded his head, Ryan stroked his cheek again. "It must be awful. To have family and friends that don’t realize your true potential."

"What do you mean? What potential?" Gavin asked. Gavin knew that he had no potential. He was an idiot, a klutz, and couldn’t fight to save his life. He had so much love for his family, but… was Ryan right? Did they really not love him? He was starting to believe it.

Ryan laughed again and held Gavin’s face even closer. “You walked from the Ramsey kingdom to my own. You survived an entire day on your own without so much as seeing one creeper or spider. Most of my men can’t even do that. You have a gift.”

Gavin’s eyes lit up. “Do you really think so?”

"I  _know_  so.”

"All those ‘I love you’s,’" he whispered. "They’re all… a lie. They don’t love me! They never did!" Gavin’s entire body filled with rage at the thought. How could they do that to him? "And Michael… why would he do that?"

"And if they truly loved you, they would have put you before anyone else," he murmured, pulling Gavin’s face close. At this point, the two were sharing the same breath. "You deserve someone who cares about you. Who would put you before themselves."

Rage coursed through his veins. “I hate them. I hate them all.” His voice was so quiet that Ryan struggled to hear it.

"Feel that rage, Gavin. Feel what they’ve done to you," Ryan said, moving his lips to Gavin’s ears.

Gavin nodded his head and closed his eyes to compose himself. “I can’t believe…” He was mad at Geoff. He was mad at Griffon. He was mad at Michael. How could they all do that to him?

"That’s it, Gavin. Turn that rage into something useful," Ryan whispered in his ear. "Feel how much you hate them. How much you want them to pay. Imagine what you could do with that rage."

Gavin’s skin tightened and goosebumps rose. He let out a deep breath and curled his fingers. He squeaked when Ryan chuckled.

"I can train you, Gavin," Ryan’s smooth lips dragged over Gavin’s cheeks as he pulled back until he was nose to nose to the young boy. "I can unlock your full potential. I can train you to be stronger than your family thinks you are - I can teach you how to kill. How to do anything.”

Gavin’s entire body shivered with delight. He wasn’t sure if it was from Ryan’s close proximity or the thought of proving his family wrong.

"Please, Ryan," he begged in a hushed whisper. "Please teach me."

Ryan chuckled and placed a soft kiss to Gavin's cheek.

That feeling returned stronger than ever. His face flushed red and his anger dissipated. Did the King of Madness really just kiss his cheek?

"I’ll teach you how to live, Gavin. I’ll teach you how to fight, how to sneak, how to hunt. I’ll prove that your family is wrong."

Gavin leaned closer to the man. “I can show you what real love is,” he whispered against his cheek. “Not whatever they were giving you.”

Gavin blushed but leaned into the hold that Ryan had on him. His entire body was relaxed into the man. He was at his command.

Gavin felt the love that he had for his “family” dissipate. It was replaced with the need to be closer to Ryan - to be with Ryan instead of Geoff and Griffon. He’d never felt so wanted before.

Minutes passed as the two embraced each other. Ryan was smiling against Gavin’s neck, placing small comforting kisses on his cheek.

It was Gavin who finally broke the silence.

"I don’t like that name."

"What name?"

"Ramsey. I hate it. I’m free from them, but I’m stuck with their name."

Ryan shifted away from Gavin and took his hand. “Then change it. You can be anyone you want to be. You’re free now.

Gavin grinned at him. “That sounds bloody cool.” He looked up to meet Ryan’s eyes. “Gavin Free,” he murmured. “I’m not a Ramsey. I’m Free.”

Ryan grinned right back at him and gave him another comforting hug. “It suits you,” he mumbled.

The silence continued for a long time, the two just enjoying the others company. The kisses that Ryan gave Gavin started something completely different in his stomach. He didn’t know what it was, but it warmed his entire body and made his smile feel glued to his face. Maybe this is what it’s like to be truly cared for - to be truly loved.  
  
Gavin snuggled up to Ryan’s neck and yawned, wrapping his arms around Ryan. 

“Would you like to stay with me tonight, Gavin?”

Gavin nodded his head and burrowed his face into Ryan’s chest. He could already feel the exhaustion taking control of his body. Who knows how many miles he’d walked today.

He’d never felt so loved. He never got this much attention from anyone before. He truly did feel loved. 

Ryan carefully stood with the boy and carried Gavin to his bedroom behind the throne room. He grinned maniacally. Not only did he have the son of Geoff Ramsey, he had convinced him that he’d only be loved here. He was willing to be trained as an assassin. A boy that was so desperate for love; fatherly love that Ryan could give him. At least, for now.

A boy who would do whatever Ryan pleased for love and affection.

He had  _big_  plans for Gavin.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The kingdom was a wreck.

Geoff and Griffon Ramsey had spent the entire night sobbing and searching for their son, ashamed that they’d not watched him more closely. Griffon screamed at the wind and Geoff pulled at his hair - it was his fault, it was his fault that his son was missing. He couldn’t bare the thought of him on his own, or that it was his fault.

Troops of soldiers wandered the streets, searching for the lost boy. Geoff had ordered a search and rescue party to spread out up to a mile away from the kingdom.

Michael watched the havoc from his bedroom window, with tears streaking down his face. The only thing lighting the city in the dark night was the soldier’s torches in the distance.

 Gavin never came back to play with him.

He would probably never come back again.

The worst part is that Michael never got to say the three words dancing at his lips the entire day.

_I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Ryan never actually kisses Gavin...? like I got a lot of asks about it on tumblr and I realize that at some points I don't distinguish that it's on the cheek but 
> 
> it's definitely on the cheek 
> 
> Ryan is 100% using his suave to manipulate him if you couldn't tell


	2. Prologue Part 2/2

Gavin starts his training the day he turns 10.

"I can't do it, Ryan," he whined, fumbling with the bow in his hands.

"I know you can, Gav," he said, fixing the position of the bow. "I can see it in you. You're a natural."

Gavin nodded and notched an arrow, pointing at the target.

"Just take a deep breath," Ryan said, guiding his hand closer to the target.

Gavin blushed but did as he said. He took a deep breath, and released the arrow when he exhaled.

The arrow went sailing through the air and hit the target with a loud  _bang_.

Gavin's eyes lit up.  _Bullseye_.

"I... I got a bullseye?" He asked Ryan, dumbfounded. "On my first try?"

Ryan grinned and pulled him into a hug. "I told you you had a talent," he whispered.

The back of Gavin's neck flushed red at the praise. "Thanks, Ryan," he mumbled.

What he didn't know was that in 10 years, he'd be the best archer to ever walk the planet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Gavin was 12, he learned to sneak. His archery skill was already better than Ryan's bests sharp shooters, so he began to train  _himself_  how to shoot.

He was being trained with Lindsay Tuggey - she was about the same age as him, and she wanted to be Ryan's warrior when she grew up. She, like Michael, lost her parents, and lived in the castle with Ryan. The two got along like brother and sister.

Gavin shuddered when he thought of Michael. He didn't like thinking of his old life. Over four years, he'd lost memories of the features of his face and their memories together.

He was forgetting the boy even existed.

"The trick is to walk on the balls of your feet," Kerry, their instructor, said. "Bend your knees, and sidestep if you can."

Gavin and Lindsay struggled to follow Kerry's lead. Gavin was tripping over his own two feet and making loud squeaking noises whenever he messed up.

"Bollocks!" He screamed when he lost his footing for the umpteenth time. Annoyed was an understatement - he was infuriated. Lindsay was already sneaking like a professional across the guards training ground.

"You'll get it, Gav," she said. "It just takes practice."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Gavin was 13, he was the most stealthy person in the entire kingdom. Hours of relentless practice gave him the ability to sneak across any grounds and scare whomever he pleased.

One day, when Ryan was watching the kingdom from his patio, Gavin decided to have a little fun. It was nearly impossible to sneak up on the king, as he had keen hearing and his senses were always alert. Nobody had ever been able to sneak up on him.

But Gavin was going to be the first.

He crept up to where he leaned over the railing. Gavin quickly wrapped his arms around the king and relished in the high pitched squeak and jump he got from the man.

"Gavin!" He screamed, turning to see the teenager trying to hide a smug grin. "How did you do that?!"

Gavin shrugged and tightened his arms around Ryan's waist. "I don't know. Like you said, I have a gift."

The two stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Gavin was lost in his blue irises - they were the most entrancing thing he'd ever seen.

Gavin wished he didn't feel this way. He wished he didn't want to kiss the older man every moment of every day and hold his hand and-

He cut his thoughts off. He didn't need to think about that right now.

"Sorry," he finally said, resting his head on Ryan's shoulder.

"No, don't be," Ryan said, running his hand down Gavin's back. "But it proves me right. You're talented."

Gavin grinned against his chest. "I love you, Ryan," he whispered.

"I love you too, Gavin."

If only Ryan knew how much he loved him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His first real test approached when he was 15. He'd leave the kingdom on his own with nothing but a bow and 12 arrows for six months. He'd have to live entirely on his own, learn how to hunt, and learn how to survive without the company of another human being.

If he survived, then when he returned, he was a man. If he didn't return, well...

Then he wouldn't have had what it takes to be an assassin anyway.

"Are you sure you're ready?" Ryan asked Gavin, brushing his over grown hair out of his face.

"Yeah. How hard could it be?" He mumbled to himself.

He was  _terrified_.

Outside the Haywood kingdom was a dangerous place. Monsters spawned out of the wood works at night, and Gavin  _always_  had to keep an eye out for creepers.

"I'll miss you," Ryan said, placing a kiss on his cheek.

Gavin sighed and returned the gesture, pain gripping his heart. "I'll miss you too, Rye. More than you'll ever know."

On the first night, Gavin had set up a ten by ten dirt house to protect him from the Creepers. He'd already started a mine and found iron and coal, but his stomach rumbled with hunger.

He'd just have to wait it out until morning.  

As it turns out, Gavin was an excellent hunter. His ability to sneak and shoot gave him a huge advantage when it came to killing cows and pigs. He feasted on the three pork chops from that day.

It was surreal when it happened. He'd heard stories of Creepers sneaking behind humans and blowing them up after a single hiss.

When Gavin heard the hiss, he jumped from his crafting table and notched an arrow aimed to strike at the creeper's heart.

Gavin's eyes widened when he saw what he was against.

The creeper was injured. He clearly couldn't walk in a steady line, and was in no condition to flee.

Gavin lowered his bow and reached out a hand. "Hey, now," he said in a hushed tone. "It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

He creeper hissed and backed away, but made a sharp cry from the movement.

Gavin dropped his bow entirely and got down on his knees. "Come here, boy," he whispered. "Or girl. Can't tell the difference."

The creeper looked frightened, but slowly crept towards Gavin's hand anyway. 

Gavin carefully touched the injured creeper's chest, before running his hand up to its face. The creeper's expression morphed from frightened to curiosity.

Gavin had always wondered what a Creeper felt like. The skin honestly felt no different than a human, other than it being much dryer than Gavin's own skin.

The creeper made a soft series of clicking, almost purring noises as Gavin pet his head. "Let's get you fixed up, okay boy?"

When Gavin retreated to get some cloth he made from wool, the creeper flinched, but made no move to run away or blow up.

He saw that the creeper's leg was only cut, and wrapped it tightly before securing the bandage.

"There. See? All better."

The creeper clicked and hopefully nudged his hand for more pets. Gavin gladly obliged and stroked the creeper's face.

Little did Gavin know, there were many other Creepers lurking in the shadows, watching him make peace with one of their own. They looked at each other and clicked in unison, all coming to the same agreement.

The boy would become one of their own for as long as he needed it.

Over the next few months, Gavin learned several clicks and calls that could be understood by all mobs (aside from humans, the most deadly one).

He learned how to click when he was in danger and needed backup; he learned how to say that he was no threat to any mob, and, for the fun of it, he had the mating call down too. Not that he would ever shag a Creeper.

He now knew not to ever try what he did with the creeper months ago again. Had the creeper not been a young child or another mob, Gavin would have been dead.

Have no compassion for anything or anyone. It's a dog eat dog world - eat, or be eaten. Kill, or be killed.

The pack of Creepers shared everything. When one found food, it was equally shared among the group. Gavin shone with his quick ability to hunt and kill, and soon grew to be one of the packs' favorite.

His six months in the wild passed quickly with his Creepers to watch his back. He could nearly fluently speak the language, and English seemed like a distant memory. His senses had become much sharper, his movements were now entirely silent, his shots were precise, and his heart was as hard as rock. He'd grown as a man in his time away.

It was a rough goodbye when the sixth full moon passed. But he had to let go of his Creeper family, and get back to his own.

When Gavin entered the castle, he couldn't believe the sight of Ryan in front of him. The two embraced without a single word.

Ryan ran his fingers through Gavin's messily cut hair, and Gavin squeezed Ryan's chest with all of his might.

When Gavin pulled away from Ryan, he looked deeply into his eyes, searching for answer. He'd grown when he was away. He knew that he had to take what he needed in order to survive.

He knew what he wanted, and he knew what Ryan wanted as well.

Without a single word, the two shared their first kiss as lovers.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Gavin turned 17, he decided that he wanted to learn to fight with a dagger. So he crafted his own dark dagger made of obsidian and diamond.

No one had even bothered trying to craft obsidian into weapons. Even the best blacksmiths laughed at the idea.

But he did it. It took him three weeks and multiple failures, but he finally created two perfect shiny black blades.

He practiced against target dummies six hours a day for three months.

Within those three months, he'd mastered the art and was able to best any challenger with his skill.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin was declared an assassin when he was 18. No other guard or trainer that challenged him even stood a chance. In fact, the test for the new solider recruits was how long they lasted against Gavin.

His speed and combat skills were matched by no other - even Kerry and Lindsay couldn't defeat him.

When Lindsay was declared Ryan's warrior, and Gavin as his protector, Gavin felt like he'd achieved something no one had ever expected of him. He'd proven his pseudo family wrong. 10 years of hard work had led to this moment.

Any compassion he'd had before this moment was now gone. He'd killed people that his king demanded eliminated and killed just because he could. If they were a threat to Ryan's power, consider them dead.

_Kill or be killed_ , he reminded himself.

Gavin looked Ryan hard in the eye when the two were going to go to bed for the night.

His eyes said it all. He was ready. He was finally old enough. And he sure as hell wanted it. There was no reason Ryan could say no tonight.

That was the night the two first made love, and Ryan claimed Gavin as his own. Anyone who touched him was dead. Anyone who thought of him romantically or sexually was dead. 

Anyone who tried to take what was his was dead. 

And Gavin loved it. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though Gavin had no one left to train him, he knew he wasn't finished learning. 21 was still young, and he had much room to improve.

At nights, he leaped from tree to tree and building to building. He'd mastered maneuvering himself around obstacles, and his speed was astonishing.

The only fault he could find in his training were his senses.

He wanted his ears to be sharper, and to be alerted that someone was near just by their presence.

So Gavin decided to blindfold himself for an entire year. He'd have to rely entirely on his other senses to guide him for 365 days. It would improve his senses, and help him take advantage of his eyes.

There were pros to this too, though. The sex with Ryan was an entirely new experience. He'd come harder than he ever had before, and his anatomy contorted in ways he never imagined possible when Ryan took him.

Ryan could get used to him begging and screaming for more. 

At first it was hard to navigate his own home in the castle and through the forest, but by six months, he didn't even need to think where he was going. It wasn't from memory - he could sense all presences in the room with his ears.

By eight months, he was able to shoot and kill using entirely his ears.

When the year was finally up, and he was ready to take the blindfold, he couldn't be more relieved to see Ryan's face for the first time in a year.

If anything, he'd only got more handsome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Gavin was 23, he was finally awarded with his armor.

He was the most skilled and feared man throughout the entire kingdom, and no one dared to challenge him. 

He had one set of armor, and one set of hunting gear.

His favorite was his hunting gear (because he preferred to hunt than go on Ryan's missions and assassinate whomever he requested). Leather wraps wound around his feet and forearms. He wore no shoes other than the wraps to ensure that he was as quiet as possible. In honor of his alliance with the mob, he had a creeper textured chest piece made of treated leather. A green cape draped over his back, while simple green track pants flowed on his legs, and a dagger was at each side of his belt.

He had a long, wooden hunting bow that he crafted himself for the best distance and power possible.

His armor, on the other hand, was another story entirely.  

He had thick enchanted leather that absorbed damage inflicted. It was dyed a dark blue with red trims (the kingdom colors). It was as strong as diamond armor, but kept him light on his feet - the perfect tool for an assassin in battle.

He had a dark hood made of intertwining red and blue swirls that covered everything but his eyes. No one could ever know the identification of an assassin.

The suit was made in layers, and covered him from the neck to his ankles, but left his hands and feet free. On his feet, he had black leather boots of feather fall, so his movements would be even more silent than they already were.

His favorite part of the armor was the new bow that Ryan had crafted for him. It was dark as night, and the grip and limbs twisted along the bow. His drawstring glowed in the moonlight and looked like silk, but had all the properties of a basic string.

The upper and lower limbs of his bow ended with a sharp blade that he could use when an enemy got too close for comfort.

He knew he was the greatest assassin to ever live. His lack of compassion made the jobs even easier - the only people he cared for were Ryan and Lindsay. Anyone else was just another potential target.

He's the not the boy he once was. He's not Gavin  _Ramsey_  anymore. Gavin Ramsey was a child who liked to waste his days playing games and listening to lies every day.

Gavin  _Free_  was an assassin. His heart was vengeful, and as black as the shadows he traveled in. He spent his days training to kill, and ending whoever spoke a lie to his deaf ears.

Gavin hated liars. Gavin kills liars, because liars deserve to die.

And that was why he was going to kill Geoff Ramsey.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin wasn't anticipating his old life to come back and haunt him on his hunting trip.
> 
> But things never work out for him, do they?

Gavin sat perched atop a branch in the woods, an arrow notched in his bow as he listened for prey.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the rustling of leaves. He could hear a bird feeding her young babies about three trees away, a squirrel cleaning his paws, and a fly squealing as a spider wrapped him up in her web to save for later.

He cringed.  _Gross_.

Sighing, he slumped against the tree and adjusted his daggers. He's been hunting since noon, and he hadn't found a single damn thing. The sun was just now dipping behind the hills, ending his window of hunting.

Gavin hated when he didn’t have a successful trip. He felt like a disappointment - like he was completely useless. Ryan didn’t need someone who was useless. 

When darkness settled finally set over the land, he decided it was time to head home.

He let out a series of hisses and clicks to let the oncoming mobs know that he was no threat. An approaching skeleton nodded in understanding and went to find other threats.

When Gavin was adjusting his body to jump to the ground, that's when he heard it.

Footsteps through the fallen leaves, about half a mile west.

His eyes narrowed and he got a better grip on his bow. Nobody has come to these parts of the woods (other than Gavin) for seven years.

Gavin crept through the trees towards the intruder, his feet barely shaking the leaves as he leaped from branch to branch.

When he'd made it close enough to the intruder, he stilled and let the person walk beneath him. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and notched it in his bow before leaning down to get a better look.

The man wore full iron armor with a diamond sword at his side. The sword glowed in the darkness and sparkled with power. On his head was the maw of a bear resting as a hat on his mess of red curls.

His face was rugged and smudged with dirt, eyes hard and focused on the path before him. He swiveled his sword around in his hand - he was clearly experienced with the weapon.

Gavin scrunched his nose when he saw the badge in silver and green on his arm. A lion roaring.

What the hell was a Ramsey bitch doing in the Haywood territory? Does the idiot not know where his own kingdom's boundaries are?

Gavin hopped off of his branch and landed on the ground in front of the man, drawing his bow and aiming it at his face.

The shocked squeal he gave almost made Gavin smile.

"What the fuck, man?" He said, placing a hand on his chest. "You scared the shit out of me!"

Gavin let a small smirk slip into his face at the man's behavior. Looks can be deceiving, he guessed. He spoke and acted like a young child.

"What are you doing in our territory, Kitty?" Gavin asked, nodding towards the Ramsey badge on his arm.

The man narrowed his eyes and gripped the hilt of his sword. "You Claws are all the same. Fuckin' assholes," he muttered, straightening his back out. "My name is Michael. You can call me Mogar. I'm the champion and protector of King Ramsey," he said proudly.

Gavin's blood turned to ice, but remained still. "Gavin Free. Protector of King Haywood," he spat, eyes narrowing at Mogar. "What a coincidence."

The tension that rose between the two when Gavin announced his position could be cut with a knife.

"Well, well. The Mad King's pet," Michael said, raising his sword. "I've heard a lot about you."

"If you've truly heard of me then you wouldn't be insulting me." Gavin grinned maliciously at the boy only a few feet away from him. "Big talk from someone who could be dead before he can even blink."

Michael laughed and twirled his sword. "Please. I doubt you have the guts."

Without leaving the warrior's eyes, Gavin raised his bow to the sky where he heard a faint rustling that would be undetected by even the most sharp ears. He released his arrow and notched another one to point at Michael.

"The next one is between your eyes," he said, milliseconds before a small finch fell before Michael's feet. Gavin's arrow was sticking straight through its head. It was a perfect, clean shot, with just enough force to kill the bird painlessly and keep the body as clean as possible.

Michael's eyes widened and he took a step back. "How the fuck did you do that?" He blubbered. "Ray can't even do that!"

"Who the bloody hell is Ra- never mind, I don't care," he said, shaking his head and readjusting himself. "I suggest you tell me why you're here, Mogar. If you lie to me, I'll know. And you'll be dead."

Michael huffed and put his sword back in its sheath before raising his hands in appease. It seemed like even  _he_  knew when he was underpowered. "I'm just here for a super charged creeper, man. Some lady reported it outside of our borders and I figured I'd take it off your hands."

Gavin lowered his bow and softened his gaze at hearing this. The tension between the two evaporated from the action. He always knew when someone was lying. There was nothing worse than a liar, and he was not lying.

"Huh. I haven't seen it," he said, putting his arrow back in his quiver. "I was about to fucking kill you."

Michael's nose crinkled and he giggled. "Damn, your ego is bigger than your nose."

Gavin laughed at this and tapped his nose. "Hey,  you know what they say about big noses," he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"That's hands, dumbass," Michael laughed and grinned.

Gavin's face fell and he blushed. "Oh. Uh, yeah," he mumbled. "I knew that."

He wasn't sure what triggered it, but Michael suddenly took a step forward and put his hand on Gavin's face.

As quick as a bullet, Gavin pulled out his dagger and pushed it to Michael's neck, but it didn't phase him. "Holy shit, it is you," he whispered, searching Gavin's eyes. "I thought i was crazy at first, but nobody is that stupid and has that big of a nose."

The pressure on Michael's neck was released when Gavin took a step back. "What the hell are you on about?"

"Gavin Ramsey," he said, grinning and covering his mouth with his hand. "I thought... we thought..."

Gavin's body stiffened. His left hand grabbed onto his other dagger and he crouched, ready to attack. "That's not my name. I'm not a Ramsey," he spat in disgust. "How the fuck do you know me?"

Michael seemed caught up in his own world, but was able to mumble out some kind of semi-coherent explanation.

"You left, you left me one day and you didn't come back, and Geoff, we, Griffon, we were so scared... We looked for so long, but we g-gave up, and, but, you were dead, but now you're not!" His voice raised at the end. "Holy shit! You're alive! We have to take you to Geoff!"

When Michael took one step towards Gavin, Gavin took two backwards. His breath caught in his throat. "Get... get away from me," he whispered, knuckles whitening around the hilt of his obsidian daggers. "I don't know you," he lied.

He hated lying.

It was like some kind of floodgate broke in Gavin's mind. Memories of playing in the courtyard with his best friend and laughing and crying and-

No. "No," he mumbled and stumbled backwards. "No."

Before him stood Michael  _Jones_.

"Gavin? Can you please explain? What's going on? I'm so fucking confused right now," Michael whimpered, pulling at his hair. "We thought you were dead, oh my god..."

Gavin snapped back into reality. He pushed these people away for a reason. He was better off without them, he reminded himself.

He felt dizzy. He'd forgotten all about Michael. It's like a major piece of his mind was just replaced, like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle.

"Gavin, please," Michael whispered. "Come home."

Gavin cringed.  _Home_.

A home didn't have liars. A home has people who love you. A home has people who care about what you think.

"My home is with Ryan,” he spat. “You tell your Geoff that his ‘son’ died when he was eight.”

Michael’s face fell when he finally took in the situation. Gavin was not nearly the same as he was 16 years ago. Don’t get him wrong, Michael wasn’t either, but this was… different. It was like his personality had changed. His soul had been ripped away from him and crafted into something else.

“Gavin?” he asked in a low voice and took another step towards him. “What happened to you?”

Gavin’s eyes hardened. “I grew up, Michael.”

Michael shook his head. “Fuck… I really have to get you back to Geoff. What did Ryan do to you?”

“Ryan taught me what love is,” he whispered. “He showed me how to live. Away from whatever you were shoving down my throat.” He knew he should just kill Michael now and get it over with. But his absence would not go unnoticed, and it would start unnecessary conflict.

“Love isn’t making someone hate their family, Gav,” Michael said. “That’s not love. That’s cruel. You need to come back with me.”

Gavin shook his head again and turned away. “I’m not going back. I’m with Ryan. The only reason you’re not dead is because you’re his protector and I don’t want to start a war.”

Michael whipped his sword forward, and before Gavin could even react, the point was jabbing into his neck. How the hell did he do that? Even though his senses were mixed up, he should’ve been able to see a move as simple as that coming.

“Starting a war?" He asked. "You don't even know," he scoffed. "It wasn’t a question, Gavin. You’re coming with me to see your father.”

Michael must have been crazy to think that a sword would convince him. “There’s no way in hell I’m leaving Ryan.”

Before he could reconsider, Gavin backed up and sprinted away from Michael towards his own home with shaky legs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin didn't cry often. He thought it was a waste of time and energy. But on his long walk home, he couldn't stop the tears from leaking from his eyes and on to his face.

He'd run out of tears by the time he entered the castle, but his face was red and his eyes were bloodshot.

When he stumbled into his and Ryan's bedroom, he groaned in disappointment when Ryan was nowhere to be found. He usually never was. Being a king required a lot of time. 

Gavin stripped down from his armor piece by piece with stiff and cold hands. His body ached and his mind raced.

He slipped his boxers on just in time for the door to open.

"Gavin," Ryan grinned, closing the door and approaching the young man. "Where were you? You missed dinner! Are you okay?"

Ryan knew something was wrong when Gavin didn't respond. He pulled the younger man forward and held his face with calloused hands. "Gavin? Can you tell me what happened?"

Gavin shrugged and allowed himself to be pulled into a hug. He buried his nose in Ryan's shoulder. "My past is coming back to haunt me, Rye," he said, grabbing at Ryan's muscular back.

He sniffled and shook in the king’s arms. “I-I was hunting, and… I saw Michael. Michael Jones. I’d… forgotten all about him. He’s going to tell Geoff, and they’re going to make me come back.”

Ryan's entire body stiffened and his grip tightened on Gavin. He placed a kiss on his shoulder and rocked him back and forth. He knew  _exactly_ who Michael Jones was. Not only because he was Lindsay's number one opponent, but because of the stories Gavin shared with him when he was young. "I've got you," he whispered in his ear. "You're here with me."

"I don't want to go back," he choked out, holding back sobs. "They know I'm here now. They're going to take me back."

Ryan ran his hands up and down Gavin's sides. "You're with me, Gavin. You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to." Gavin shuddered and leaned into Ryan's touch. "I'll protect you," he hummed.

“I’m so useless,” he whined. “I’m supposed to be your protector, yet here I am crying in your arms again.”

Ryan kissed the top of Gavin’s head. “Shut up. You and I both know your power. There’s nothing wrong with needing comfort.”

Gavin's body relaxed and he let out a shaky breath. Ryan was right, he was being stupid. Even if he was 24 and the most talented assassin in the world, he was still a person. And there was no way in hell that someone would be able to rip this away from him.

They could try their hardest, but they would never get him back.

Ryan pulled away from Gavin and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you, Gavin."

Gavin blushed and closed his eyes, pulling him in for a longer, more intimate kiss. He left his lips lingering over Ryan's. "I love you more."

Gavin’s heart swelled at the touch of Ryan. It was true. Of  _course_  he loved him more. Ryan was his reason for living, for breathing, for existing. Without Ryan, Gavin would have no purpose. He  _was_  his purpose.

If Gavin had to lose Ryan to his old life, then he would have no life to live at all. Even if it came down to taking his own life, Gavin would do it for Ryan.

And  _that_  was a promise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments, guys :) Feel free to leave feedback/constructive criticism! It makes my entire day to hear back :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin knew he was being watched. He shouldn't have been surprised when he met his spy.

Even though Gavin knew he was safe in the walls of Ryan's kingdom, he couldn't shake the feeling of being watched.

He couldn't even train without feeling the hairs on the back of his neck raise. But when he turned around, there was never anyone there. There was no way in hell that Michael didn't tell Geoff of his whereabouts. It was only a matter of time before he sent an assassin of his own to spy on him or kidnap him.

Or... maybe even kill him.

The change in his behavior didn't go unnoticed by Ryan, and Gavin knew it. He never slept at night anymore, and tossed and turned when he did.

He never returned Ryan's kisses with as much passion as he usually did. In the past few weeks, they didn't even have  _sex_  anymore. Gavin was too frigid and scared to even try it.

Gavin spent his days relentlessly training. He would skip meals to practice his melee skills on the dummies, and shot targets for hours on end.

One day, Ryan woke up to find Gavin's side of his bed was cold. He didn't see the boy until about 1:00 in the morning, and when Ryan asked where he was with a tired voice, he just shrugged his shoulders. "I was practicing," he said, rubbing his eyes and slipping in the bed next to Ryan.

When Ryan wrapped his arms around Gavin that night, he didn't mention how he could feel his ribs through his shirt. He didn't ask when the last time he ate was, or when the last time he slept was.

Because he knew that it would end in an argument with Gavin. And if Gavin left the kingdom to clear his mind, there was no way that he would return with Ramsey's men on the lookout for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been about a month since his encounter with Michael, and he hadn't left the kingdom since. He didn't want to risk hunting outside of the kingdom in case there was someone waiting for him beyond the walls.

It wasn't as if he  _needed_  to hunt for the food. He and Ryan were always well fed. Hunting was just a way of clearing his mind. Needless to say, his mind was a cluttered mess ever since he saw Michael.

He knew that he was  _very_  well trained, and could take on about ten other well trained enemies at once. The problem was, Michael probably knew that as well. So if someone were going to attack him, the warrior would make sure that it was more than he could handle.

But he fought through his paranoia. He could just sneak through the trees and hunt, where no one could see him if they were there.

So at dawn, Gavin wriggled out of Ryan's arms and geared up for the day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was only about an hour after he'd left when he felt eyes on him again.

He looked at the surrounding trees, but no one was there. Shaking his head, he refocused his attention to the deer walking under him. He notched an arrow and got ready to strike.

"You know, for someone with senses as sharp as yours, I assumed you would've seen me by now."

Gavin withdrew a sharp breath. He whipped around and pointed his bow at the threat, only to find a man a few years younger than him relaxing in a branch next to him. His eyes were covered with a white mask.

A black cape with a red underside hung off his shoulders. Strangely enough, he wore a tuxedo with a rose sticking out of the pocket. His feet had black leather boots that were clearly enchanted.

He sat with a smirk on his face and one leg swinging off the branch. He was picking at his nails and seemingly disinterested in Gavin.

"Who the fuck are you?" Gavin shrieked, pointing his arrow at the man's head. 

"I'm Ray," he grinned, finally turning to face Gavin. "Or Tuxedo Mask. Very original. Because I wear a mask and a tuxedo, right? Gets all the ladies, I'm tellin' ya."

Gavin shook his head and looked Ray up and down. "So you've been watching me for  _how_  long?"

Ray nodded and hopped to his feet on the branch. "About a month." Gavin's stance hardened and Ray chuckled. "I wouldn't bother trying to shoot me. That would be a huge mistake for you."

"I'd watch your mouth, Ray," he said. "I've never missed a shot in my life."

Ray laughed again and removed the mask from his face. Gavin took another sharp breath in. Holy  _shit_ , was he good looking. His eyes were chocolate brown and his eyebrows framed his face perfectly.

"That's funny, Gavin. I've never been hit!" His eyes crinkled when he grinned. "Well, it's going to be a first for one of us."

Gavin narrowed his eyes. He didn't have to deal with this shit. Clearly, Ray had been spying on him for some time, and was an obvious threat.

With a deep breath, he released the arrow aimed between his eyes.

Before Gavin could even realize what happened, Ray was at his throat with a diamond dagger. He grinned and held Gavin's arrow between his two fingers.

"How did you...?" Gavin asked dumbfounded.

"You're not the only assassin in the world, Gavino," he said, breaking the arrow in half. "In fact, you're looking right at one."

Gavin's eyes widened and and he gulped against the blade pushed against his throat. This was it. This was the end of the line.

Gavin kicked Ray away and back flipped on to the ground, landing and turning away to run.

He only took one step when he slammed into a broad chest and got knocked back to his butt.

In front of him stood Michael with a smug grin on his face. His arms were crossed and his sword was resting at his side. He didn't have his armor on, but wore yellow shorts and a brown shirt to match the bear maw on his head. "Man, Ray was right. Your senses really  _are_  dulled. Get some sleep, dude."

Gavin gulped and scrambled to his feet. He backed away from him, only to back up into Ray, who wrapped his arms around Gavin's sides and kept him in place. "Don't even bother, Gav. We just want to talk," he said.

Ray grabbed his hands and pulled them behind his back while holding his head in the crook of his elbow. He kept his legs as far away from Gavin's feet as possible, rendering the hunter completely useless.

Gavin struggled in his hold, but stood no chance against Ray's strong grip. He really  _did_  know what he was doing. It took years of training for Gavin to perfect that hold.

"I'm not going back to Geoff," he whispered, tears welling in his eyes. "You can't make me."

Ray chuckled into his neck. A shiver went down his spine, but he stood still. "You know that I could, Gavin. But we won't. We just want to talk about it."

Gavin slumped against Ray, accepting his defeat. "Fine," he mumbled.

Michael straightened out and gave the two a strange look, but started anyway. "We want you to talk to Geoff."

Gavin opened his mouth to protest, but Michael went on before he could. "We are  **not**  forcing you. It would only be for ten minutes, and you can go home when you're finished. He just wants to see you, and to make sure that you're okay. To make sure that Ryan isn't hurting you."

Ray laughed again. "Well, we know that he's already hurt you a lot. We want to make sure that he won't anymore."

Gavin closed his mouth and let the first tear spill over. He rarely let himself cry, and he'd only cried before Ryan. But something about Ray's iron grip struck his heart with fear - he'd never been outmatched before. Ray could easily kill him with the twist of his arm.

"Y-You don't have the right to say that," he choked out. "Ryan loves me. He made me who I am today. You don't understand!"

"I don't think you get how much I do understand, Gavin," Ray said. "I know what it's like to have your childhood stolen. I know what it's like to be trained everyday to become a weapon. And I know that you thank Ryan for stealing your life away."

He frantically shook his head. "No," he whispered. "I'll kill him. I'm going to kill Geoff."

Michael sighed stepped towards him. "You do realize that that makes you a huge threat to our kingdom, right? We don't want to hurt you."

"I don't care!" He screamed, struggling in Ray's grip again. "Just kill me! Just get it over with!"

"Gavin..." Ray started. "Don't say things like that. We'll be forced to imprison you. It's our  _job_  to protect Geoff."

Gavin pulled his hand away from Ray and grabbed his dagger from his belt, slashing Ray's arm. He hissed sharply and released Gavin, holding the wound.  

Gavin used the opportunity to back away from him, where he could face both of them at once. Michael drew his sword and approached him. "Bad move," he snarled.

When Michael swung his sword at Gavin, he dashed to the side and kicked the weapon out of his hands.

Time slowed down. He was in his zone. This is what he was  _born_  for.

The hairs on his neck felt Ray trying to sneak up behind him. He turned to grab Ray's wrist, twisting it until he yelped and dropped the dagger in his hands. He ducked just in time to block a punch from Michael, who's fist ended up hitting Ray in the face with a loud  _smack_.

Gavin slid away from the two and drew his other dagger. Ray rubbed his nose and picked up his own two. "Step back, Michael," he said, snapping his obviously broken nose back into place without even a wince. He grinned and and stepped towards Gavin. "I'll take care of this."

Gavin already knew that Ray was quick, but he underestimated just  _how_  fast he was. With one wicked swipe, he got a slice in to Gavin's left arm, and Gavin jumped back to defend against him. His arm stung, but he ignored it. He'd had worse.

Gavin cocked his head at the man swiveling his daggers. He was elated that Ray was as good as he was. He finally had some good competition.

When Ray attacked this time, he was ready. He blocked the attack with his own dagger and kicked his leg out to push Ray to the side. But Ray saw it coming, and grabbed Gavin's leg to twist him to the ground.

Gavin spun and avoided the dagger coming to his face. He kicked out Ray's legs again and brought him tumbling to the ground.

The two scrambled for control. Gavin tried to ignore the shiver that went straight to his crotch whenever Ray ended up on top of him, holding his weapon against his throat and completely dominating Gavin.

He didn't know when it happened, but they managed to completely disarm each other, until it was left to fists and feet. The two desperately punched and kicked at each other like six year olds fighting over a toy.

"Stop!" A voice called from their left. Gavin's body froze and he accidentally let Ray crawl on top of him again.

What the hell was  _she_  doing here?

Gavin pushed Ray aside and sprung from the ground to find Lindsay Tuggey standing behind the group with her sword drawn. Her face was crumpled into an expression Gavin could only define as rage.

Gavin swallowed and looked to the ground. He knew that he was in deep, deep shit.

She marched over to Gavin and yanked him by the ear. "There you are!" She yelled. "I've been looking for you for hours! Do you know how worried Ryan is?"

"Lindsay," he mumbled, face reddening. "I'm kind of busy here."

"I can see that," she groaned. She pointed her sword at Michael, who stared at the girl with wide eyes. "And I'd appreciate it if you stopped."

Michael stumbled to bow in front of the warrior. "Lindsay Tuggey," he said, kneeling on one knee. "It is an honor to meet you."

Gavin grinned at the act. Everyone knew who Lindsay was. She was no doubt the greatest female warrior to ever live.

Lindsay laughed when Michael blushed. "Don't kneel, soldier. Makes me feel old," she said, eyeing Gavin, who muffled a laugh at the quote.

"Now, if you don't mind,  _Gavin,_  let's get back to your boyfriend. He's about having a panic attack right now."

"But I'm-"

"I don't give a flying fuck what you're doing with these two idiots. This fight is over and you're coming with me." She whipped around to face Ray when he stood. "Any objections?"

Ray brushed the grass and dirt from his pants. "None at all, 'mam," he said. He smirked at Gavin - it was an evil one with no good intentions. "I'd sleep with one eye open, Gavin," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper that he knew only Gavin and himself could hear with their trained ears. "Every assassin has a weak point. And I'll be waiting for yours."

Gavin shuddered but turned with Lindsay to start walking back to the kingdom. 

It took all of Gavin's strength to stop himself from breaking down right then and there.

_He was going to die._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wen Lindsay throws Gavin in to the throne room by his ear, he lands on his ass for the second time that day and lets out a deep groan. "Ow."

"Found the bastard," she snapped, stepping back out of the room to give the two their space.

Ryan stopped his pacing back and forth across the room to stare at Gavin. "Holy shit," he said, racing over to pick the boy up. "You're okay."

Gavin was roughly pulled into a hug and he held on to Ryan for dear life. He trembled in his arms and buried his nose in Ryan's neck.

"Where were you, Gav? I looked all over the kingdom, but I-I couldn't find you anywhere," he said, pulling away from Gavin to look him straight in the eye.

His eyes were bloodshot from crying and had an insane twinge to them. Guilt filled Gavin's stomach. He didn't want to know what he did when he was gone. Maybe that's why Lindsay was so angry. 

"It's nothing, Ryan," he whispered, taking a step backwards and wrapping his arms around himself. "It's nothing."

"Bullshit!" He screamed, grabbing Gavin's face. "Tell me what's happening, Gavin," he said, his voice breaking. "You're not okay and I want to make it better."

Gavin shook his head out of Ryan's grip and took another step back. "I-I can't," he whispered again. He knew if he did, Ryan would do something rash to protect Gavin.

He didn't want to endanger Ryan because of his stupid actions.

"Please, Gavin," Ryan whispered. "I'm so worried. You're not the same. You're not sleeping, you're not eating, and we never even talk anymore. I know it has something to do with Michael, so please just talk about it with me."

Gavin looked up to meet Ryan's eyes, tears welling in his own as he tightened his grip on himself. His resolve fell. "I'm going to die," he murmured. "I'm going to die." He dropped to his knees when the first tear fell. "They're going to kill me, Ryan."

Ryan was by his side in an instant. "No one is going to hurt you," he said. "You're Gavin Free. No one  _can_  hurt you."

Gavin choked back a sob when he thought of Ray. "He's better than me. He's so much stronger."

Ryan pulled him into his arms and stroked his hair. "Slow down, Gavin," he said in a comforting voice. "Start from the beginning."

So he did. He cried into Ryan's lap and told him the events of the day like he did on the first night they met.

He had to stop a few times to shake and sob, but he eventually got the story out.

"I'm going to kill them, Gav," he whispered, rage making his eyes dilate.

"No, Ryan, please," he whimpered. "You can't do anything. You just have to let me go. I'm no use to you anyway."

Ryan hugged Gavin even harder and kissed his neck. "I'm not letting you do that. I love you so fucking much. I'm not going to let you leave me," he murmured into his skin. It sent shivers down Gavin's spine.  _Stronger than the ones Ray gave me,_ he thought to himself.

He straddled the older man's lap and put his lips right in front of Ryan's. "Please," he whispered, his breath ghosting across Ryan's lips.

He accepted the invitation and pulled Gavin hard against his chest. He bit his lip and Gavin moaned loudly, effectively breaking what was left of his self-control.

"Not now, Gav," he groaned in to his ear, slightly pushing the boy away. "You're upset."

Gavin sighed but slumped against Ryan anyway. He knew that whenever he was upset, he used sex as an escape. He didn't want to use Ryan like that.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"You should get some rest," Ryan said. "You haven't been sleeping well at all lately. And from what I've heard, it's affecting your performance. You'll need it to be top notch to face whoever this Ray is."

He nodded stood, cracking his back. "I will. I love you, Ryan," he said, grinning and leaning down to give him a kiss.

"I love you too."

As Gavin laid in bed that night, Ray's words echoed through his ears.

_Every assassin has a weak point. And I'll be waiting for yours._

Gavin didn't realize how soon his weak point would be coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, loves! I know Gavin seems a little OOC at the moment, but it will all make sense in the end, I promise :) I'm trying to be better about responding to comments, so if you leave one, I'll be sure to respond. It would also make my day if you left one <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We all cross boundaries in our lives. Moments that change how we define ourselves and everything that's about to come. 
> 
> We never know when we do cross a boundary. 
> 
> And neither did Gavin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm the worst. I know. 
> 
> But hey! I'm back with full intent to finish this bastard :) 
> 
> I would really really appreciate it if you left a comment, because it was a few comments that kept me motivated to finish this.
> 
> I hope you like it! c:

Gavin didn't get sick often, but when he did, it was _awful_.

The boy would often wake up with various bruises and sores, most likely from his training. He didn't really know where they came from, but he'd always had them, so he didn't worry about it. It was when he was covered in bruises and he was sick that he could barely even function.

He felt Ryan stretch next to him as he woke and did his best to put on his "everything is fine" face. Gavin smiled and kissed Ryan's nose -

And then promptly leaned over to the other side of the bed to throw up.

Needless to say, Ryan didn't even let him stand up that day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Whenever Gavin was sick, he usually slept like a log. But for some reason, he was tossing and turning and couldn't keep his mind still.

Ryan joined him in bed a few hours ago. The man was snoring softly next to him with his arms wrapped around Gavin.

When Gavin couldn't sleep, he'd usually wake Ryan up and he would fuck Gavin until he couldn't even walk the next morning. But he didn't want to wake Ryan, and he was too sick to do anything.

To clear his mind, he decided, Gavin slid out of Ryan's arms, pulled a thin shirt over his head, and sneaked out the window of their bedroom.

When he made it out of the kingdom walls, he broke into a sprint. His chest hurt, he wheezed with every breath, his entire body hurt, and tears were building at the corner of his eyes. But it was worth it for the thrill he got.  

He hopped up to the nearest tree and struggled to pull himself up on a branch. His arms were heavy and his muscles didn’t respond, but he made it. He knew his senses were dull and he was dizzy, but he had to do something to help him sleep.

Only then did Gavin realize that the entire hold was covered with snow.

The ground was covered in about three inches of smooth untouched snow. The trees were coated in the white fluff, and the forest was so quiet he could hear the snow hitting the ground.

He began leaping from tree to tree, grinning at the feather light snow that fell from the branches. He could barely hear and his vision was blurry, but he knew that this would make him better. He was finally at peace.

He didn't even realize that that's where his life took a dramatic turn.

When he attempted a jump to the next tree, he felt a sharp pain in his side, cutting him off from his next jump and making him fall to the ground. He landed on his back and took in a sharp breath when the air was knocked out of his lungs. His head pounded and he couldn't see straight. The ground was spinning below him.

His hands fumbled to where he felt the stab, only to find an arrow sticking out of his side. He brought his fingers back to his face to see his own warm blood coating them.

He couldn't see well, but he could see well enough to see Ray jump down on the ground next to him.

"I'm sorry, Gavin," he murmured, pulling a dagger from his belt. "Geoff's orders."

Before Ray could even swipe at him, Gavin stumbled to his feet and leaned where the arrow was sticking out of him. He knew that fighting would be futile when he was sick and losing this much blood, but he had to try.

What was he thinking? His senses were already dulled from lack of sleep, but now he had to be uncoordinated and dizzy because of his sickness.

He was an idiot. He'd forgotten that Ray was even watching.

And now he was going to die.

"Don't make this worse than it has to be, Gavin," Ray said, approaching him with a dagger slowly. "Let's make it easier on both of us."

Ray's dark, hard eyes twinkled in the moonlight. Gavin was caught staring when Ray slashed at his arm again.

With a sharp breath, he collapsed to the ground and held his arm. "No," he mumbled. "I'm not leaving."

"Then so be it," Ray said with a frown.

Gavin stumbled backwards and kicked his feet at Ray. It didn't even phase Ray, who just cut his leg again. Ray pressed on and kept slashing at Gavin's legs. The pain blinded him, but he kept scooting away. His blood left a trail that was a sick contrast from the snow blanketing the ground. He kept moving until his back hit a tree.

"Now, do I have to drag you back, or will you come with me?" Ray said, coming down to Gavin's level and holding a dagger to his neck.

"I'll never go with you," Gavin spat out before slumping to the snow below him. He was pretty sure he tasted blood. His vision started to fade to black. "I'll never go." He felt his head hit the hard ice and felt the blood trickle out.

The last thing he saw was Ray's boot step in the puddle of blood and a rope fall to the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first thing he felt was pain.

He woke up gasping and clutching at his stomach. He turned over to vomit and coughed up everything that he could. His side throbbed and each heartbeat brought on a new wave of pain. He couldn’t even think. The pain was blinding.

The next thing he felt was the cold.

His breaths came out in sharp gasps, his hot breath leaving clouds in the bitter air. All he was wearing was his boxers and a thin t-shirt. Goosebumps rose on his pale skin.

After that he saw his surroundings.

He was sleeping on nothing more than a frozen cobblestone floor. Cracks and holes littered the grimy floor, and Gavin's entire body was sprawled across it. Iron bars covered one side of the room, providing little space to see the world beyond.

The last thing he noticed before he came back to his senses were the cuffs around his wrists.

Metal rings cuffed his arms to the cobblestone wall behind him, and a chain gave him limited freedom. The cuffs cut into his wrists, grinding against his arm and drawing blood.

He choked a sob when he realized where he was. He was in the Ramsey Dungeon.

The pain in his stomach and side only increased. He fell to his side and coughed again, wincing at the red fluid that came out of his mouth and across the floor. His head spun, and the pain made his entire body throb.

"Help," he croaked in agony. "Somebody help me."

He spat up more blood, staining the ice and snow caked to the floor.

He must have laid there for hours - coughing up blood, choking on it, and almost passing out from the pain in his side.

He hadn't wanted to die more than he did in that cell. He thought of Ryan - how useless he was to the Mad King. He thought of his life back at home; it wasn’t that great anyway, so he might as well die anyway. And for some reason, he thought of Ray. He thought of his chocolate brown eyes and his stupid white mask.

Gavin lost track of time by the time someone finally came to check up on him.

Michael strutted up to his cell with a smug grin on his face. "Well, well. Guess you're not as great as everyone says, are you? So how is the Haywood pet settling in?"

Gavin just coughed again. It was probably too dark for Michael to see the bloody mess around him.

"Please," he croaked between coughs. "Just kill me now."

He crawled as close as he could to the bars Michael was leaning on and reached for the sword at his side.

"Woah woah woah! What the fuck do you think you're doing, man?" Michael said, stepping away from the bars.

"Kill me," he begged. "Please."

Michael's eyes widened and he grinned when he heard the words. "Holy shit. Didn't know you were the suicidal type. Ryan must have really fucked you up," he laughed.

"It h-hurts, Michael. Please make it stop."

"Yeah, I'd imagine so. Jack will be here soon for your trial," he said, drawing his sword and throwing it as far away from Gavin as possible.

Gavin slumped down to his knees and placed his head in his hands. The room span around him. He couldn't see straight and the pain was blocking his thoughts. "I-I can't..."

The smile fell right off Michael's face when he finally saw the blood trickling down Gavin's chin. "Holy shit," he mumbled. "What did Ray do to you? Guards!"

Two guards in silver and green armor rushed to Michael's side only to see Gavin collapse in another coughing fit.

They fumbled with their keys but found the one to Gavin's cell. They opened it and rushed to Gavin's side to flip him over. The gravity only helped him choke on his own blood.

He couldn't do it anymore. He just wanted it to stop.

_I'd rather die._

Before he could change his mind, he brought his nails to his throat and started scratching desperately. Just break the skin, he told himself. It's not that hard to kill yourself.

When Gavin felt his own fingers get coated in blood again, the guards pulled his arms away from him. "Get Jack in here, Michael," he yelled.

Michael nodded and covered his gaping mouth, his eyes misty from the sight before him. "Just stay with us, Gav," he said before sprinting out of Gavin's view.

He didn't want to stay. He wanted to go. It hurt too much to stay.

When he finally slipped into unconsciousness from the lack of blood in his body, he prayed that he wouldn't wake up.

_I'm sorry, Ryan._

_I failed you._

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin thought he knew everything about his life. 
> 
> But even the most intelligent men can be wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the second update of the day! It's to make up for my absence <3

"You should've seen her, man. She was gorgeous. A total bad-ass, too."

"I'm sure she was."

"And she was even hotter when she was pissed!"

"I bet so."

"She doesn't like to be called ma'am. Makes her feel old, I think?"

"Michael?"

"And she had this awesome swo-"

"As much as I love hearing about this amazing girl of yours, could you tone it down a bit? Gavin should be waking soon."

Gavin heard a bit of shuffling and a mumble, before a door slammed shut. He noticed hands in his hair. They were rough, and combed through his short locks with care.

"I can't believe he's alive," another voice said, cracking. "After all these years."

The voice was unsettling and put shivers down Gavin's spine. But all he could do was push his head towards the fingers caressing his scalp. Warmth radiated from them, and he'd never felt more safe.

The fingers halted momentarily, before continuing petting him softly.

"My boy."

His eyelids felt like lead, but he managed to flutter them open. He couldn't feel anything but the fingers in his hair - the pain was all gone.

He was looking up at what seemed to be a ceiling made of Quartz. The room was bright and comforting - it made him feel at home.

Even the thought of home didn't hurt him. He was blissful.

A man with a large beard and glasses stepped into his frame. He was holding what looked like a clipboard. "I gave him a potion of fast healing, so he should heal up fairly quickly. He's under a Numbing III, so he won't be feeling anything for a while." It was the same voice he heard earlier. The one that was talking to... What was his name? Michael?

"Numbing III? Don't they only make those in..."

There was a long pause.

"We try to forget that the maker has blood on his hands. It's a Wolf potion, but it's all we have," the bearded man said.

There was another long pause.

"Thank you, Jack," the disembodied voice croaked again. "Thank you." Who was Jack?

The man looked towards Gavin's head and smiled brightly. "Don't worry, Geoff. He'll be fine."

Geoff? The name sounded familiar. It felt like he should know who that was but his mind couldn't place where he'd heard it.

The man he assumed was named Jack finally met eyes with Gavin and smiled even brighter. "I'll leave you two alone," he whispered, before stepping away. Gavin heard a door close and a sharp gasp behind him.

"Gavin," the other voice cried. "Oh my god, Gavin."

Gavin blinked and nudged his head towards the hand in his hair. He tried to open his mouth and speak, but no words came out.

This was nice. He didn't have to worry about training, he didn't have to worry about Ray, he didn't have to worry about Geoff -

He froze. Geoff. He knew the name was familiar.

It all came flooding back. Geoff was here. Geoff was in the same room as him. Geoff was touching him.

He found the will to struggle away from the hand touching him and fell to the floor below. He heard shouts of concern but he didn't care - he just had to get out of there.

He tried scooting himself away but found he could barely even move his legs. He was defenseless.

"Gavin, stop, please!" A voice shouted higher than the others screaming in his ear. Geoff's voice. It silenced all others.

He looked up to see the man hovering above him with a grim look on his face. Tears welled in his bloodshot eyes. Gavin couldn't find words. Here he was, right here in front of him. His father.

He didn't know what he'd expect. Maybe horns and red eyes, or acid foaming at his mouth from the lies he'd told. But here he was, the same as he ever was. New tattoos covered his arms and hands, the Ramsey sign still shining bright while others had faded.

He didn't have any words to say. So he said the first thing that came to mind:

"You shaved your mustache."

Geoff's face split into a grin and he dropped down on the floor to Gavin's level. His tears spilled over and he reached a hand out slowly to Gavin. "Yeah. Yeah I did, bud."

Gavin looked at his hand then met his eyes.

What was going on?

He didn't feel the anger he usually felt when he thought of his "family." He was confused.

Geoff was a liar, wasn't he? Then why did Gavin have the urge to trust him?

"Gav, please," he murmured, crouching down to Gavin's level further. "I just found that my son is alive after over ten years of being missing. We all thought you were dead. We looked for years," he smiled, a tear finally spilling over and trailing down his cheek. "Sometimes I catch Griffon looking at your bedroom door for too long. She kept looking - never believed that you were gone. God dammit, she was right."

There was a long pause while Gavin stared at Geoff's eyes, truly seeing the pain and hurt in his irises. "I love you, Gavin," he whispered. "I missed you so much."

Gavin froze.

Since the day Gavin showed up on Ryan's doorstep, he'd trained himself to tell when someone was lying. There were many warning signs - failure to keep eye contact, touching your face, nervous shuffling. They were all unconscious and therefore couldn't be controlled.

Gavin knew everything about his life. He knew he was talented. He knew he was smart. He knew Ryan loved him. And he knew that Geoff was a liar.

But here he was, staring Gavin down with sincerity.    

"You're lying, aren't you?" He mumbled, pulling into himself. "You don't love me. Please tell me you're lying."

"Why would I ever lie to you?" He said, retracting his own hand. "You're my son! Of course I love you!"

Gavin exhaled slowly.

He thought he knew everything about his life. Ryan was an honest man - and Geoff was not. But even the most intelligent man can be wrong.

Geoff wasn't lying.

"I can't believe it..." he whispered into his arm. "He told me..."

Ryan was his everything. He gave him life. He gave him love. He gave him freedom. But how could he know what was real when Geoff was standing right in front of him with pure honesty? He had to be lying.

"What did Ryan tell you, Gavin?" Geoff asked, shuffling closer to Gavin. "What did he do to you?"

Gavin shrugged and pulled himself tighter into a ball. "I thought he told me the truth."

Only one could be telling the truth. Ryan would never lie to Gavin... Would he? And if he did, Gavin would know.

Geoff shut his eyes and balled up his fists. "I-I can't believe it," he whispered. "I knew he was behind it. I knew what he wanted." Geoff opened his eyes and looked towards Gavin.

Gavin was taken aback. "What... What do you mean?"

"You're my son, Gavin," he started. "You're the most important thing to me. You always have been and you always will be. Over my royalty, and over my people." He shook his head and wiped the tears away from his eyes. "He knew that if he turned you against me that it would crush me. It would make me make the first move on war." He laughed. "Well, it sure as hell worked."

Gavin frowned and shook his head. "Why would he do that? You're the one who's been threatening war on him since before I was born!"

Geoff froze and stared gavin down. "Don't tell me you don't know," he spat. "Don't tell me he sheltered you from the truth. That sick fucking bastard!"

Gavin shrunk in on himself again. "Ryan has been honest with me since the day we met. Why should I believe you?" He sounded unsure even to himself.

"Gavin..." Geoff trailed off, frowning at his lost son. "Ryan isn't an honest man. We've been at war with the Haywood kingdom for 15 years."


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin calms Ryan's neurotic tendencies. And when he's not around...
> 
> Bad things happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides because I haven't updated this in approximately 8 years*
> 
> Sorry for my absence, guys. No one told me it would be so hard to keep up with a story! I fell out of the Freewood world for a while, but then I looked through the tags again and BAM I'm back. 
> 
> I cannot emphasize how inspiring it is when you guys leave kudos/comments. It really makes my day and makes me write more. Please leave one so I know you're reading! :D
> 
> TW for a lot of blood in this one.

Gavin sat atop the roof of the castle, looking at the kingdom before him. It's different than what he remembered. It was bigger, and new structures replaced old ones.

He heard footsteps behind him, but didn't bother to look. He already knew who it was. "What are you doing here, Ray?"

Ray sat on the edge next to him, dangling his feet off the side. "How'd you know it was me? Aw man, you totally blew my cover. I was going to pretend to be Michael and we could have gay buttsex."

Gavin laughed. "Who else could climb the roof of a bloody castle?"

"Fair point," Ray said. "How's your side doing?"

Gavin finally looked over at Ray. He was smiling, but there was something else - guilt. He was guilty for hurting Gavin.

"It's fine," he said, lifting his shirt to show Ray the bandages. "Jack patched it up. A few weeks and I'll be back up and ready to go."

Ray nodded, relief flooding his face. He shielded his eyes and looked back out to the kingdom. "Woah now, we just met, you can put your clothes back on. But hey, that's good."

Gavin laughed again and then they were both silent, just appreciating each other's company. Ray hadn't changed much since the last time they saw each other. He wasn't wearing his armor, but was wearing glasses. His eyes still shone in the light and made Gavin feel like pudding.

"I... I'm sorry about that. The arrow. I had to get you here. Geoff wanted to see you at least once."

Gavin sighed but shrugged. "It's fine. I get it. King's orders, right?"

Ray didn't respond. "So what are you going to do when you're all healed up?"

Gavin shrugged again and stared back out to the kingdom. The sun was starting to set. "I don't know. Geoff said I could go back to Ryan if I really wanted to. He didn't want to keep me prisoner. But I'm not sure if I want to go home. I don't know where home is anymore." He looked back at Ray. "I know you're not full of shit, Ray. Will you tell me something?"

"I'd usually say 'depends on the question' because I sound super cool, but yeah. I promise I'll answer," he grinned from the side of his mouth.

Gavin laughed, but became sullen once more. "Will you tell me what you guys think you know about Ryan? And... about the war?"

Ray nodded and readjusted his glasses. "Yeah, it's... fuck. Look, I promised Geoff I wouldn't tell you but I also promised you I would answer. And you deserve an answer, so... Just don't let him know I told you, okay?"

Gavin nodded. "Of course."

"It was a week after you went missing. Michael remembers it, but I wasn't here yet. We had a tip from someone in the Haywood kingdom that you were escorted to the bastard's castle by like, seven guards. We figured that meant that he'd captured you. Geoff was furious, but never had solid evidence, and Haywood denied that it ever happened. So we figured it wasn't really you, or it was a faulty tip. Either way, it just rose tensions - Geoff figured he was lying, and Haywood was insulted that Geoff even considered it. Well, we know now that it was true.

"It wasn't until a few years later that Geoff declared war. He figured you were dead, and had no reason not start one now. Griffon tried to stop him, convince him that you were alive, but he was blinded by rage. He didn't want a son growing up through a war, but would have one in vengeance. From the looks of it, 'Ryan' or whatever his name is didn't want you to be influenced by it either."

Gavin slowly nodded. "But how could I not have noticed? Surely I would've noticed there was a bloody war happening all around me..."

Ray shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that. It's not a 'real' war. There's frequent battles over unclaimed lands far away and assassinations of each other's highest ranks. You and I know all about that, though. Oh, and if a Claw is spotted on a Lion's territory, or vice versa, they'd be killed on sight." Ray chuckled. "It makes sense that you didn't know. Ryan didn't want his pet getting hurt."

"Stop calling me that," Gavin croaked, pulling at the sleeves of his jacket. "It's not like that."

Ray scoffed. "I honestly couldn't care less if you were just fucking or if he was using you. You clearly enjoy it either way."

Gavin blushed and sputtered, but Ray continued before he could say anything.

"Unfortunately, now we do know that he's using you," he sighed, turning to Gavin. "He's been lying to you, too."

"I know a liar when I see one," Gavin huffed. "How could I not tell? The only lie I've heard so far is about the war, and he didn't really lie. He just didn't tell me. Besides, he did it to protect me!"

"He's insane, Gavin," Ray said in disbelief. "You know that. You can't group insane people with regular people - he felt no guilt for lying to you, so he had no signs of lying. Unless you don't know about his insanity. Or about the oppression, and how he became king?"

Gavin shook his head. "He's not insane. He became king because his father had a heart attack."

"No. He knew he was heir to the throne, and he didn't like the way his father ruled. Stabbed him right through the heart, and his mother too."

Gavin wanted to deny it, but so far it all made sense. He was confused, but one thing didn't make sense. "What oppression are you talking about? We live in a fairly peaceful kingdom."

"No, you don't. There's uprisings every day. Whippings and beatings for those who speak against Ryan. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know that, either."

Gavin broke the depressing mood with laughter. "Beatings? Are you kidding me? Have you forgotten that I live there, Ray?"

Ray shook his head and blushed. "Well..."

"Every morning I go to the market and buy a loaf of bread. Everyone in the town is happy; they all love Ryan. It's a safe place. It always has been. Where did you hear that?"

Ray's face was blank, the blush spreading to his neck. "We, uh, we had a spy. We lost connection with him though. I guess he was working for Ryan as well?"

They were both silent, until they simultaneously started cracking up.

"Some spy, eh? Kind of breaks your credibility." Gavin said, wiping tears from his eyes. "Ryan isn't insane, though. He's never laid a hand on me and I haven't seen him hurt anyone else."

Ray frowned. "Then where did you get those bruises?"

"Training. I'm rough on myself."

"On your neck? They look recent..."

Gavin blushed and slapped a hand over his neck. "That's none of your business!"

Ray keeled over with laughter. "Oh, gross! you guys totally fucked before you got here!"

"Shut up, Ray! It's private!" Gavin slapped him on his arm but smiled anyway.

Ray grinned, but realized what they were talking about. "He is crazy, though. Always has been.

"We think that you calm him down. You're like a drug to him - whenever you're around, your laid back attitude calms his neurotic tendencies. That's why he breaks when you're gone for too long - or so we've heard."

Gavin nodded and curled in on himself. Is that why Lindsay was always so mad when he went missing? Does Ryan really go insane?

"Geoff thinks he's using you as a drug to keep him calm. I don't think so," Ray said, picking at his nails like he did the first night they met. "I feel like he really does love you. He doesn't want to scare you, and cares too much about you to hurt you."

Gavin's heart sank. All this time he was with Geoff he figured that Ryan really was an insane liar. But who really is the liar? Was anyone lying? What if it was all just a big misunderstanding?

"I know what I'm doing when I get better, Ray," he said slowly standing and cracking his back.

"And what would that be?"

Gavin grinned and reached out a hand to help Ray up. "I'm putting an end to this war."

  
  


~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

Ryan loved the smell of blood.

The metallic scent tickled his nose and sparked something inside his chest and tightened his veins. It could only be smelled it if there was a lot of it. Naturally, he loved what the smell of blood insinuated.

So when he swung his sword into his highest ranking guard's neck, all he did was giggle.

"Anyone else want to tell me something that's 'worth my time?'"

The guard's lifeless eyes stared at him. His mouth was still open, mid-sentence. "Oh I'm sorry, did I interrupt you?" Ryan pulled his sword out of the man's neck, and he collapsed in a puddle of his own blood. Slowly, Ryan ran his finger along the blade of his sword - a gift from Gavin. The blood from the sword beaded on his finger, and he licked it off in one fluid motion.

Ryan loved how blood tasted.

Lindsay watched him from a distance next to his throne. This wasn't anything new. It didn't make it any easier, though. She knew that if she spoke up, she'd end up with a similar fate.

"Now, you know why I called you all here today, correct?" Ryan ran his bloody hand through his hair, swinging his sword like a madman.

The line of kneeling soldiers in front of him quickly nodded their heads, fearing to fall like the man before them. The puddle of his blood slowly crawled towards them, threatening to soak their knees.

"Then why is it," Ryan said, "that all I'm getting from you is an 'I don't know?'" Ryan sighed. "Unless someone tells me where Gavin ran off to, you're all going to end up like your friend h-"

Ryan was interrupted by the door bursting open. A man clad in Haywood colors ran through the door. His chest heaved with each breath. "Your majesty," he gasped, "we've found a clue of the missing boy."

Ryan cocked an eyebrow. "Oh?" He wasn't facing the man, but cocked his head anyway. "Care to explain?"

The guard shuffled forward and knelt. "Just north of the kingdom walls, sir. It looks like a fight took place. There's... there's a lot of blood, sir."

Ryan's eyes narrowed. He spun to face the man. "Is there anything else? Any clue of which direction they went?"

The man shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, sir."

Ryan tisked. "Such a shame," he murmured. "I was just starting to like you, too." He stepped towards the man and extended his sword. He tapped it against his chin and forced him to tilt his head up. The soldier begrudgingly met his icy eyes. "You're sorry, you say?"

The man nodded and gulped. "Yes, sir. Forgive me, sir."

"Do you think a simple 'forgive me' will suffice? Hm?" The man shook his head, but Ryan didn't even see it. He was lost in his own head. "Do you think a 'forgive me' meant anything to me when it fell from my own father's throat? When I shoved my blade through his chest?" Ryan's grin took up his entire face. "When I ended his sorry life?"

The soldier shook his head.

"You should've seen it," he whispered. "I was aiming for his heart, but it went through his lungs. There was so much blood. He choked on it. Gurgling and sputtering... he was crying for help. It felt so good, blood feels so good. His blood soaked my shirt."

Ryan snapped back. "No, it wasn't enough to save him." He dropped down to his eye level and dug his sword farther into his neck. "So what makes you think it will save you now?"

Ryan thrust his sword through the man's neck, silencing his screams before they even began. He slowly stood and slid the sword out of him. The man fell with a loud thud.

Ryan loved the way blood looked. It glimmered in the light, and spreaded so quickly. Another shiver went down his spine.

"You will find me my Gavin," he said, snapping his head towards the guards. "You will find whichever Ramsey bitch took him from me, and you will bring him back. He will be alive and I will be the one to kill him. Understood?"

They nodded their heads.

Ryan's eye twitched and he sauntered towards his throne, like he didn't just kill 12 men behind him. "Good. Now clean this up and get out of here," he said. He sat on his throne and wiped his hands off on his kilt. He turned his head to Lindsay. "I made a promise to Gavin on his birthday. Did you know that?" It was like they were having a normal conversation over brunch.

Lindsay shook her head. She wasn't even fazed by the king's behavior. He was always like this when Gavin wasn't around. "I didn't. What was it?"

"It was simple, really." His heart became heavy, but still, he smiled. "No one takes what is mine."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't forget to leave kudos and/or a comment so I know you're reading :) Any typos? Feedback? Whatever!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It didn't make sense to him, that he wasn't getting tied up and beaten for information. Any king would do that. So why isn't Geoff?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey hey hey this is my first time writing smut so could you guys tell me what you think? I'm kinda nervous tbh
> 
> the smut is only in the first part of the chapter so yeah
> 
> Thanks to those of you who left comments! I don't get many so they'd make my day <3
> 
> TW for self harm at the end of the chapter

"I want you to understand something, Gavin," Ryan purred, nipping and sucking at the other boy's neck. "As soon as I do this, you belong to me."

Gavin moaned and wrapped his arms around Ryan's shoulders, his fingernails scratching down his muscular back. "Please, Ry," he whimpered into his neck. "I want to be yours."

"Every inch of you," he whispered, gripping his hair tight in his hand. "Your entire body is mine. No one else's. Everything you feel inside you tonight, and all you'll be feeling tomorrow? It's because of me - no one else."

Gavin was crumbling. Ryan wasn't even fucking him yet and he couldn't tell which way was up. "Just take me, Ryan, please!" He moaned, wrapping his legs around Ryan's waist, trying to force out any space left between the two. "I want to feel you, please, please."

"Hush, pet," he whispered. "It'll be okay. You're mine now," he grinned, finally pushing into Gavin.

The scream he released was one of pure bliss. His eyes rolled back into his head and his vision blurred.

It was all Gavin could do was hang on to Ryan and spread his legs even further.

The pleasure was like nothing he'd ever felt. It made his toes curl and his body twist. A fire was building in his stomach, waiting to erupt at a moment's notice. It burned hotter when Ryan bit his neck hard and picked up the pace.

Ryan filled him up so well. It's like he was empty his entire life, and now he was whole for the first time.

He was a wreck. With each thrust, he felt more and more of himself being handed over to Ryan. His heart, his body, his mind - his life was all in Ryan's hands. He didn't care what he chose to do with it.

He wanted to scream, he did - but it was too much for him. All that got through was a choked gasp.

It wasn't long until he came. And when he did, the world turned white.

He could feel nothing and everything at once. His body twisted and his toes curled, writhing on the mattress. He was sure he could see the face of God.

But when his vision cleared, he saw it was only Ryan, staring him down with such a possessed grin it made him shudder again. From fear or pleasure, he didn't know. His ears stopped ringing and realized he was still screaming - chanting - Ryan's name.

He didn't have any other words to say.

"You're a god," he whispered in awe, collapsing on the bed. His body was numb and shaking with a post-orgasmic bliss. He winced when Ryan pulled out and crawled next to him. Gavin could only assume that Ryan came inside of him - he didn't care. He wanted it. "You're my god."

Ryan wrapped his arm around Gavin and kissed the top of his head. "And now you're mine." He patted down Gavin's wet hair. "Do you know what that means, Gavin?"

Gavin shook his head and craned his neck to see Ryan.

"It means that if anyone touches you in a way that I don't approve of, I'll kill them. Slowly, and very, very painfully." He held Gavin close to his chest. His broken smile could kill a man. "No one will ever take what is mine. And that's a promise."

Gavin shuddered with delight. His bones were so tired that he couldn't move, so Ryan scooped him up and pulled him closer. "I love you, Ry," he said with a shaky voice. It felt good to be owned.

"I love you too. Now go to sleep."

He didn't bother fighting it.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Gavin woke up in a cold sweat, throwing the blankets off his body. "Shit," he whispered, wiping off his clammy forehead. "Shit."

He missed Ryan's touch. The way he caressed Gavin's cheek when they just woke up, or the loving kiss on his forehead after sex.

God, how he missed the sex. It'd only been a week since he was captured, but he needed to feel Ryan again, inside of him and outside.

He missed the way Ryan cradled him whenever he was hurt, emotionally or physically. When he tripped and fell down, or when someone made a rude comment that ended with tears. It was like the world was a dirty place that only Ryan could protect him from.

It felt like that. It still _does_ feel like that. Ryan is the only one that can protect him from the world. It was true then, and it's true now.

Gavin tried to ignore the way his throat tightened when a tear fell down his cheek.

He peeked outside the window of the room he was staying in. From what he could tell, it was his old bedroom before he ran away. The sun was only starting to rise; he could afford to be up now.

After he took care of the awkward boner in his pants, of course.

 

~~~

 

"It's incredible," Michael said, eyes shining bright. "I can't believe it's mine."

Before him lays a sword. Its grip is silver and green, the hilt curling into a blade around his hand. A red gem connected the blade and hilt. The blade itself was a pristine silver, and sparkled with dark power.

"Jesus Christ man, it's a sword. Keep it in your pants," Ray said, rolling his eyes. "I'm more of a dagger man myself."

"Shut up, Ray. No one cares."

Gavin sat with the two boys in the courtyard, eating sandwiches Jack lovingly made for them. _You'd better enjoy them_ , he said. _I made that shit with love._

"So where'd you get that bad boy anyway?" Gavin asked, taking another bite of his sandwich. "I miss my bow."

"Oh, um," Michael scratched his neck, where his Mark of Thane tattoo was. "No reason, really. I might have, uh, thrown mine into a pit of lava by accident."

The boys looked at him with wide eyes. "So you're actually fucking retarded, right?" Ray said while shaking his head. "Like, there's no way anyone is actually that dumb."

"Shut up," he mumbled. "It came as a surprise to both me and my sword. Anyway, Geoff said he had something for both of you. And that he needed to talk to Gavin."

"Oh sweet, I hope it's a blowjob," Ray said, taking another bite of his sandwich.

"Ray, that's his son. That's super gross."

"Meh, more for me."

Gavin furrowed his eyes. Geoff had something for him? He knew that Gavin couldn't accept it. It was his greatest enemy's boyfriend.

His eyes wandered to the castle. What was going on?

The other boys continued their chatter, but Gavin drowned it out. How could anyone be so hospitable when his worst enemy's protector is roaming free in their kingdom? Gavin didn't even need an escort. He was free to roam and free to go at any time - something wasn't right. It almost seemed like Geoff forgot the two kingdoms were at war.

That, or he forgot that Gavin's home was with Ryan. His eyes widened. Geoff didn't think that he was staying, did he?

"Hey, Gavin," Michael said, prodding his knee with his finger. "You still with us?"

He tore his eyes away from the gates. "Yeah. I'm fine."

Michael nodded and slowly stood, cracking his neck and back. "Come on, Geoff said there was an Enderman fucking shit up in the south market. If we take care of it, you guys can go see what Geoff got you."

"Sweet! I'm in!" Ray said, popping back onto his feet with one motion. He reached a hand out to Gavin and bowed his head. "After you, m'lady."

Gavin blushed and took his hand, struggling to get up with the stitches in his side. Ray's hand lingered in his own, even though he was obviously up. He looked to see a blush forming on Ray's cheeks. "Um, you guys go ahead," he said. "I'm going to go talk to Geoff."

"Sure thing, m'lady," Ray said, kissing his hand.

Gavin ripped his hand away and wiped the blush off his face, ignoring the warmth in his stomach. Ray just winked and blew him a kiss.

Michael shook his head and laughed. "Fucking fags."

 

~~~~

 

"Gavin, you know it's a tough decision for me," Geoff said, scratching the stubble that was slowly growing on his face. Geoff sat on his throne, the one next to him empty - it must be Griffon's throne, Gavin decided. She didn't have one when he left.

"No, I don't know. How is this tough? What's so simple? Why am I not getting tied up and beaten for information?" Gavin said, crossing his arms. "Any king would do that!"

"Yeah? Well not me!" Geoff exclaimed. "You're my son, Gavin. I'm not going to force harm upon you. Or have you forgotten that?"

Gavin shook his head. "This war is stupid anyway. It's all just a big misunderstanding!"

Geoff laughed. "No, it's not. I don't care what Ray told you - this war isn't about you, Gavin. We can't just call it off."

"Why not?" Gavin said. "Why can't you two just call it even?"

"Because it's for something bigger than you, Gav. It's about security, land, food - something that we both desperately need."

Gavin frowned, but he knew it was true. It wasn't something ended by love and friendship. "So... so what do I do now?"

"You have to fight, Gavin," Geoff said. "You have to pick a side and fight for them. Someone like you could win it - if I have both you and Ray, this will be over within the next year!"

"Don't make me choose," he whimpered. "You know that if I have to choose, it won't be you."

Gavin tried to ignore the pained look on his face while he spoke. "I can't have you leave me again, Gav. I can't lose you."

"What if... what if you two made an agreement?"

"It can't be done. Ryan's a madman, he just wants blood." Geoff ran his hand through his hair. "Who's to say it would be a good compromise, anyway? We'd both have to accept the terms, and I'm not sure I'd like them."

"But what if I talked to him?" Gavin said. "Maybe you could have some sort of meeting. I could convince him to meet you halfway."

"You could try," Geoff said. "As long as you come back."

Gavin grinned ear to ear. "Great!" He said. "Maybe I could have an escort, though. My side still hurts."

"You'll have a whole fucking army. I don't trust the bastard not to manipulate you again and change your mind."

"He won't manipulate me," Gavin said, rolling his eyes. "I have my own free will."

"Sure, sure," he said, standing from his throne. "Great, then! I'll see you off tomorrow after Griffon gets home. I wouldn't hear the end of it if you left before she returned from her trip." His eyes narrowed. "I only have one request."

"What would that be?"

"No sex. That shit's weird," pulling him in for a hug.

Gavin laughed and hugged Geoff back. "No promises."

 

~~~

 

He was trapped. He needed to get out. He was trapped in his own skin and didn't know how to get out.

Ryan looked at himself in the mirror, poking at his eye and bending his skin. _I'm trapped in here._

In his left hand there was a razor. _I need to break out._

He brought the razor to the height of his cheekbone, then pushed it in and dragged it down to his chin. The blood beaded up and dripped down his neck. _I'm escaping, it's leaving._

He knew that Lindsay was banging on the door. He knew that she knew what he was doing and he knew she knew he knew she knew, but couldn't bring himself to care. She didn't get it; he had to be free from this body.

His vision curled into blackness and the voices screaming at him got louder. _I don't have much time. I have to get out._

He pinched his fingers on one side of the cut, and placed his hand on the other. _I have to get out I have to get out I have to get out they'll find me I have to get out_

Before he knew what was happening an axe was through the door and suddenly Lindsay was there and there was a cloth on his face and her mouth was moving but there were no words there were only the voices and there's blood on her face there's so much blood it's on the walls it's on the floor and there was someone screaming he thinks it's him but he doesn't know he has to _get out_

"Shh, shh," Lindsay said, stroking his hair and trying to stop his screams. "You'll be okay, Ryan. Alright? It's not real. None of it is real. It's just the sword." She cursed herself. If she walked in a moment later, who knows what she would've found.

His screaming stopped, but his eyes stared at wall and his mouth hung open. "I have to get out," he mumbled. "They're going to find me here, I have to get out."

"Fuck," Lindsay breathed. "We have to get you Gavin back."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay real talk is the formatting of this distracting to anyone?? every time i post a chapter I feel weird about the formatting
> 
> thanks guys i love you all <3


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip to the Haywood kingdom was unforgiving. Gavin knew that. But it would all be worth it if they came to a compromise. 
> 
> Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ayyyyy not that much happens in this one (it's mostly dialogue which i suck at) but it's really important for the next chapter 
> 
> thanks for the comments guys <3 I have most of the rest of this written out, so let me know if i'm putting these out too quickly idk 
> 
> ALSO I was thinking about writing a GTA V au so what do you guys think about that would you read it

The sun was only starting to peek over the horizon.

It reminded Gavin of the day he left - too early for people, too late for mobs. It made him smile. The pink light cast shadows over Ray's pouting face. He was geared from top to bottom in his usual tuxedo mask attire. His mask sat on top of his head.

"This is bullshit," he said, rubbing his eyes. "I don't like you enough to be doing this this early in the day."

"Shut up, Ray," Michael said.

"Yeah, yeah. What else do you ever say?"

Gavin smiled at the boys. What idiots. He turned to Geoff and Griffon, who still had tears in her eyes from finally seeing her lost boy. "Damn, Gavin," she said, wiping a tear away. "You just got here and you're leaving again."

Gavin smiled softly. "I'll be back. I promise."

"Alright. Michael, Ray. You know the drill. Any mobs, you put yourself first. He can't fight with the stitch in his side," Geoff said.

"You know damn well I can fight," Gavin said, a blush forming on his cheek. "But thanks for looking out for me."

"It's fine, Gav," Michael said. "I'm the best swordsman in the world. Even if Ryan goes insane and tries to eat your face, I've got you." He puffed his chest and stood proudly.

Gavin giggled to himself. Ryan's sword fighting puts Michael to shame.

"Hell no. I'm not letting my baby go unprotected," Griffon said. "At least take a bow with you. Jack?"

Jack emerged from behind Griffon holding a silver and green bow, just like the dagger Ray earned from killing the Enderman and the sword Michael had yesterday.

Gavin almost felt like he was betraying Ryan for accepting it, but he really wanted another bow. He grinned and made grabby hands for it. "I haven't shot anything in so long."

"Let's see you shoot, then," Geoff said. "Michael told us about the finch you shot. Let's see it for ourselves."

Ray rolled his eyes. "Please. He's probably not even that good."

Gavin furrowed his eyebrows and yanked the bow from Jack. The older man muttered a _rude_ under his breath, but handed him the quiver anyway.

"Let's prove you wrong." He slipped the quiver over his head, pulling out one arrow and readying it in the string.

"There's a target over there," Michael said, pointing to the right of Gavin.

He didn't need to look. He remembered where it was from seeing it when he first got here. "This is how it's done, Ray," he said.  Without taking his eyes away from the younger boy, he aimed his bow to his right and fired.

The _thunk_ and collective gasp was all he needed to hear to confirm what he already knew.

"Bullseye," Geoff said, covering his mouth. "You didn't even look!"

"Didn't need to," Gavin said. "I knew where it was." Gavin and Ray never broke eye contact.

"That's pretty good. I guess," Ray said. "For an amateur. How about this?"

Ray pulled a dagger from his belt, and before Gavin even realized what he was doing, he heard another _thunk_ where his arrow was. He spun his entire body to see the target.

Ray's dagger had split his arrow in half.

"Your arrow was in the way, what can I say?" Ray said, smirking at Gavin's wide eyes. "Oh shit, Ray dropping some mad rhymes over here!"

Gavin nodded his head in approval. He had a new respect for Ray - he didn't need to look either. His training was more extensive than Gavin thought. When he looked back over to see Ray's eyes twinkling, he could tell the respect was mutual.

"I don't think I want to go with them," Michael said. "I value my life."

Gavin laughed.

"Alright ladies, are we going or what?" Ray said, cracking his neck. "The sooner we get there the sooner I can go back to bed."

Geoff pulled Gavin in for one last hug. "Stay safe, Gav. You take one wrong turn and you'll be lost out there forever."

He nodded. This wasn't the first time he'd taken this journey. He did it when he was eight years old with absolutely zero combat skills. Now he was an experienced assassin.

It didn't matter that he wanted to fall over or vomit or shout in pain because of his injuries. He would stay strong - for Ryan.

 

~~~~

 

They only made it a few miles out before Gavin collapsed.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he said, bringing himself to a sitting position. "Just give me a minute." His side throbbed and he gasped for air.

Michael shook his head. "You're not going to make me carry you, are you? I mean, I'll do it, but I wouldn't be much help if there's any monsters."

"You don't have to worry about mobs," Gavin said, tilting his head back to get some fresh air. "I can talk to them."

Gavin would never forget the high pitched giggle that came from Ray.

"Yeah, okay. What, do you speak Creeper? Tell the big scary spiders that you're not a threat?"

"Yeah, actually," Gavin said, taking the hand Michael offered him. He stood with a grunt. He could feel his bandages were starting to soak with blood. _Shit_. That can't be good. "That's exactly what it's like."

"Can you believe this kid?" Michael said. "It's like a god damn circus show, every day."

Gavin giggled and grabbed Michael's shoulders. "Carry me. I'm tired and don't want to walk."

"Pussy," Ray said, turning away when Gavin hopped on Michael's back. He wished he was that strong.

"You weigh like eight pounds," he said, grabbing his legs to lock him in place. "I could lift you with my finger."

"Half of that is his nose," Ray muttered, earning a glare from Gavin.

It was going to be a long journey.

 

~~~~~~

 

Gavin's talents came into use when the sky turned dark.

He was now walking on his own two feet, the pain in his side subsiding a few hours ago.

"Watch this," he said, pointing to a creeper up ahead. He slapped Ray's hand that was inching for his dagger.

Gavin grinned. He loved showing off. He let out a series of hisses and clicks, pointing behind the creeper. _We're just passing through. We don't want any trouble, and we won't hurt you._

There was a moment of silence before the creeper replied with his own short hiss and wandered away. 

"You're actually fucking kidding me," Michael said, jaw dropping open. "This isn't real."

"Yep!" Gavin said cheerfully. "Learned it when I was fifteen. Lived with the lads for six whole months."

Ray shook his head. "I'm not even going to question it anymore."

"Shit," Michael said. "Look."

There was a faint orange light flickering in the distance. Gavin's trained vision allowed him to see the scene in detail. "Seven guards, all Claws. We must be here."

"Make that six," Ray said, pointing to the farthest right guard. "He's shuffling around, waiting for something. His shift is about to end or he's about to shit his pants. Either way, that makes six."

Michael stared with wide eyes at the boys. "I can barely tie my own shoes."

Gavin giggled. "Look, I know it's not very honorable, but if you can, you should take off all your Kitty marks." Ray's mouth opened to protest, but Gavin continued. "That's how they see you. It'll make this process a whole lot easier. You won't look like intruders.

Michael and Ray looked at each other with worried expressions, but nodded together. They both took off their armband with the Ramsey Coat and Michael messed his curly hair over his Mark of Thane.

The three inched towards the guards. Ray was right - the seventh guard was nowhere to be seen. In front of them was a clearing that led to the front gates of the kingdom. "This feels wrong," Michael said. "I shouldn't be here."

"You'll be fine," Gavin said. "Stay behind me. They'll let you through if they know you're with me, but don't act hostile. Let me do the talking."

He stepped out from the cover of the foliage and whistled. Immediately, the guards spun and pointed their swords. "Is that... Gavin?"

"It's me, boys!" He said, stepping forward with his hands up. The guards warily eyed the boys behind him, but Gavin put his shook his head. "They're my escorts. They're safe, everything is fine."

"Are they Kitties?" The first guard spat, looking up and down Ray. "Orders are to kill them."

"It doesn't matter," Gavin said, his voice hardening. "You will let us pass and you will let us walk freely to King Haywood's throne or I will see that you are all fired. You will let all other defenses know that we're here. That's an a order, and my orders prevail any previous orders that the king has given you. Understood?"

The guard withdrew his sword and bowed his head. "Yes, Prince Gavin," he said. "Sorry for any inconvenience. The King will be grateful to see you."

Ray and Michael looked at each other. "Prince?" Michael mouthed. Ray shrugged his shoulders.

"Come on," Gavin said, stepping forward through the grand gates of the kingdom. "That was easy." He did his best to hide the satisfied smirk on his face when Ray and Michael had to pick their jaws up from the floor.

"You're a fucking prince?" Ray said in a harsh whisper. "We had the heir to the Haywood throne in our kingdom and we didn't do anything?"

Gavin shrugged. "I was wondering that myself. Surely you knew, I mean who else would it be? Kerry?" He laughed. "Come on. It's not a big deal. Market is this way, castle is up ahead."

 _Not a big deal?_ Michael shook his head. Sounds like a big deal. It painted a huge target on Gavin's back.

It was after dark, but the markets near the gates were bustling. There were kids out in the streets, play sword fighting. The merchants handed out food and water to the ones who got tired, smiling and patting their heads.

"Is this place even real?" Michael said. "It's like a fairytale."

"Kids should have a curfew," Ray mumbled. "It's not safe."

"It's totally safe! And I told you there was no oppression," Gavin said. "Smell the air - it's Wednesday, so the whole place smells like soup and bread. No one goes hungry."

Ray nodded in approval. "It smells fantastic."

"Let's go. You can explore later," Gavin said, trying to pull the boys out of their dazed state. "Castle is this way. The steps start here." He started up the stairs. That's something he's gotten used to - the 236 step trek to the castle.

Gavin rolled his eyes at the boys. It was going to be harder to get them up these stairs than to convince Ryan to end the war. Michael whined and Ray groaned - just like when Gavin first got here. When they were finally at the top, Ray nearly collapsed and Gavin wanted to throw up from the pain in his side. "Wow, okay," Ray wheezed. "I am really not cut out for this."

"For such a big kingdom, there's minimum security. We only ran into one set of guards," Michael said.

"It's more complex than that. Lindsay set up the defenses here, and she's a genius. I can't tell you the details, though. We're kind of at war with your kingdom."

Michael blushed furiously. "Wait, Lindsay's here?! How do I look? Do I have something on my face? Is she even single?"

Gavin laughed. "You look fine. And yes, she's single. You two would be perfect together."

Michael grinned. "This trip just got a whole lot better."

Ray was still wheezing in the corner but straightened his back. "Come on. If we don't go now, I'm going to pass out."

Gavin took a deep breath and pushed the door in.

He was expecting the throne room to be calm and silent like it usually was, but that's not what he found. Servants were bustling around the room with a worried look on their face. Guards lined the red carpet leading up to the throne, all standing up straight. Well, straighter than usual. On the throne there was -

He froze.

"Ryan," he whispered. "Ryan!"

The room silenced at the voice of the lost Prince.

The King's head perked up, and his once tired eyes widened.

He didn't care about matters or formality. Time slowed down and the world seemed to disappear. It was only Ryan and Gavin. He ran from the two boys at his side towards the King, who stood from his throne. He jumped in his arms, ignoring the pain in his side. It didn't matter, though. Ryan was here. Ryan would take the pain away. "Gavin," he said, squeezing the boy tight. "You're here."

"I'm here, I'm here," he said, tears welling in his eyes. "I love you. I'm here."

His entire body shuddered when he buried his nose in Ryan's neck. He couldn't place the smell - it was just Ryan. There were tears falling down his face, and he didn't even know when he started crying. Gavin pulled his face away to look into Ryan's icy blue gaze. He didn't need to ask.

He slotted their lips together, relishing in the feeling of having Ryan so close again. He tasted like warmth and home, and Gavin drank it up. The world was okay again - everything was right. His bones felt weak and he shivered in his skin.

Ray had to look away. It was too intimate of a moment to watch. It's not like he imagined himself in Ryan's position. No way. 

Gavin wanted to kiss Ryan forever. But he'd have time for that later, and there were more important matters at hand. He ripped himself away from his lips. "Ryan, I have escorts," he whispered against Ryan's swollen mouth.

Ryan tore his gaze away from Gavin to see Michael and Ray shuffling awkwardly in front of the throne. His eyes narrowed when he saw their armor clad in green and silver. "From the Ramsey kingdom?"

"Yes," Gavin said. Michael stood taller. "You can't hurt them, they mean no harm. We're going to give them a nice room to sleep in, and we're all going to sit tomorrow and have a nice talk."

This was nothing like what Michael expected. He expected walls coated in lava and servants in chains, not a scene like this. He almost shied under Ryan's gaze. He could _feel_ the bloodlust. He could see it in his eyes. He's killed men like this before, so why was this one so frightening? It must be the way he carried himself, with his chin held high. He was so sure of himself, and so was everyone else.

For the first time in his life, Michael was intimidated.

Ryan looked hesitant but nodded. "If you trust them, I trust you."

"I do trust them. I really do." He glanced over at Michael and Ray and smiled brightly. "You'll be safe, okay? I promise."

Ray scoffed but nodded anyway. He didn't need Gavin's protection, especially when Gavin was acting like some lovestruck schoolgirl.

"Lindsay, find them a room. The nicest one available," Ryan said. "I mean it."

Lindsay nodded. "Taking cute boys to a bedroom? I can do that," she said, winking at Michael. The blush on his face made Gavin wince. "Come on, this way." Gavin whipped his head towards the sound of her voice. He grinned and waved, but she only rolled her eyes. "You and I are going to have a very long conversation later, Gavin."

Gavin snickered and buried his face back in Ryan's shoulder.

"Everyone else, thank you for your service. I'd appreciate it if you left us alone," Ryan said, voice booming across the room. The servants faces were so much more relaxed now. Happy, even. Usually they were just content, but now they all had relieved smiles.

"Where'd you get that sword?" He heard Lindsay say as she was shuffling the boys out of the room. "It's totally badass." Gavin smiled. They were so perfect for each other.  

He watched as the final servant closed the wide door behind him. A loud bang reverberated across the room. They were alone.

"Why didn't you tell me," Gavin said in a quiet voice, eyes glued to the door. "Why didn't you tell me we were at war with my father?" He looked at Ryan with pain in his eyes.

Ryan had to look away. He had a rather large scratch on his face - Gavin would make sure to ask about that later.

"I didn't want you to feel like you had to choose," he said, wringing his hands in front of him. "It didn't matter how much you thought you hated your father, I knew you still loved your family."

"I love you more," Gavin said, taking Ryan's chin between his fingers and forcing him to look at him. "You know I would've fought for you."

"Then fight for me now," Ryan purred, grabbing Gavin's waist. "I don't know what his Thane is doing here and I really don't know why his assassin is here, but it doesn't mean we're friends." He connected their lips.

"They're my friends, though," Gavin said, pulling away. "We're coming to an agreement tomorrow."

Ryan chuckled and ground his hips into Gavin's. "Are we, now?" Gavin moaned and Ryan brought his mouth to Gavin's ear. His hot breath stirred something within his stomach. "We can talk about a compromise, Gavin. But talk is cheap, and I want you to fight for me." Gavin moaned again. "Will you do that for me?"

Gavin nodded and swallowed. "I'll fight for you, Ryan," he said, feeling his self control slipping away. He just wanted to be close to Ryan. "But only if we have to. I want to talk first."

"Mm, but that's so _boring_ ," he said, sliding his hand up Gavin's thin shirt. The contact burned Gavin's skin. "I say we kill them."

Gavin shook his head. "No. You're going to talk to them."

Ryan ground his hips again and made Gavin lose his breath. "Fine," he said. "But you don't look too sure of yourself. I think you want to fight." Ryan's hand wandered to Gavin's side and felt the bandages there. "They did this to you, didn't they?"

Gavin nodded and buried his face in Ryan's neck.

"Poor baby," he said, rubbing his waist. "I won't hurt them, but you could. You could end them right now if you wanted to."

Despite himself, he nodded. He could. He really could. They hurt him. Ray hurt him.

Geoff's voice echoed through his mind. _Don't let him manipulate you._

Gavin shook his head. This wasn't manipulation, it was Ryan showing him the truth.

"Come on, Gavin," Ryan said, sucking marks into Gavin's neck. "Didn't you miss me?"

Gavin nodded. "Yes," he whispered. "Please, Ryan," he said, biting the older man's earlobe.

"That's more like it. Good boy."

Gavin knew he was using sex to make him agree. But what's the harm in one night? He could always protect them tomorrow.

Right?

 

~~~

 

_It would be mutiny. I can't do it. I can't disobey Geoff._

He wouldn't do it. It was against Michael's orders. But he's seen the man's eyes, and the way Gavin looks at him. Like he would drop down on his knees and slice his own neck if he was asked to. He worships the king, and it's disgusting.

_They're both right here, unprotected. Geoff never said not to. He didn't think I would even consider it._

Ryan wants them both dead and he knows it. Gavin swears he'll protect them, but the way he lost himself when he kissed Ryan - the bastard will do anything he wants him to.

It's true, the king is insane. Ray was right. He uses Gavin as suppressor for his insanity. His eyes were broken, and his mind was gone. Even his servants were happy he was back, so they didn't have to fear for their lives. Michael saw it himself. He's crazy without Gavin.

And if he's crazy without Gavin, what good is a madman in a war? It would be disobeying Geoff, but doing his kingdom an even bigger favor.

Michael shook his head. No, he wasn't going to kill Ryan.

He was going to kill Gavin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *laughs maniacally bc i know what happens and you don't*
> 
> seriously though don't forget to let me know what you think about the gta thing and this chapter i love you all <3


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things didn't go as well as planned. At least, not for Gavin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the ending of this was just edited! make sure to re-read it :)

 

"Okay, here's the plan," Michael said, sitting on his bed. "Did you make sure there's no one outside?"

"Yeah, it's clear," Ray said in a hushed voice. "Let's keep our voices down, though. I don't think anyone would appreciate the assassination of their beloved prince."

Michael shook his head. "No. I don't like it either, but it's for the kingdom. For the safety of the people."

"So what it is it?"

"Right. So, the meeting's not going to last long. We know that. When no compromise is made, he's going to want to kill us."

"Naturally."

"So that's when we strike. You throw your knife, right between his eyes. Or in his heart, whatever works better. He may be quick, but he's not quicker than you. You saw his reaction when you split his arrow in two - you're too fast for even him to register.

"Ryan will be after you. We have to get the fuck out of there. I'll sacrifice myself if it comes to that."

"Michael, no, you can't-"

"Yes, it's _my_ plan. I don't think I could live with myself anyway," Michael said, glancing away from Ray. "I couldn't look Geoff in the eye."

"So, what then? Why Gavin?"

Michael frowned. "You saw Ryan's face. He's depressed without Gavin. Watching him die with his own eyes, and knowing he didn't do anything to stop it..."

"He'd kill himself," Ray said, realization dawning across his face.

Michael nodded. "It's the only way. If we kill Ryan, Gavin would kill us both before we had a chance to escape. His rage fuels him. You and I combined wouldn't even stand a chance. He's been angry for over fifteen years, and now that he's not angry at Geoff, he's not as good as he once was. You know that."

"Shit," Ray croaked, rubbing his neck. "I don't know if I can kill him."

"You have to," Michael said. "You made the oath when you swore your life to Geoff as his assassin. I don't care what boy crush you have on him."

"Well what about Lindsay?" Ray whispered. "She's his Thane, his protector. She'd put herself before Ryan like you put yourself before Geoff. You might have to kill her, too."

Michael opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the door opening. "Woah, kill who?" Lindsay said, poking her head through the door. "Sounds heavy. Are there any dicks out? I don't understand your relationship yet."

Ray shook his head and stood. "Nah, Michael doesn't have a penis. There's only me and my pure manliness."

Lindsay laughed and opened the door all the way. "Gavin and Ryan want to see you, to talk about a compromise or something."

Michael looked at Ray and nodded. "It's time."

Lindsay rolled her eyes. "You guys sound like you came out of a book. You're so serious."

 

~~~~~

 

Gavin licked his thumb and rubbed it against Ryan's cheek. "Good lord," he said. "You didn't even bother to look presentable."

Ryan whined and leaned away. "Leave me alone," he whimpered. "Life as a king is hard. No one will spoon feed me."

Gavin giggled and grabbed his face. He pulled it aside to look at his neck. "At least you wore a shirt with a high collar. What's under there is for mature eyes only."

Ryan smirked. "Have you looked in the mirror?" He yanked Gavin's collar down, revealing a congregation of red and purple bruises lining his neck.

Gavin squawked and pulled away, smoothing his collar back over his neck. "You're a bully," he said, pouting his lip. Ryan smiled softly and reached over to kiss his cute pouty face.

"Ryyyyan," Lindsay said, interrupting the two. "Ramsey's men are here."

Gavin stood straight. "We're going to make an attempt at this, alright?"

Ryan nodded. "Sure thing." _Dammit, Lindsay_.

The boys walked in, standing proud while Lindsay bowed her head. Gavin winced but remained silent - this was already going roughly.

"Michael Jones, Thane of Ramsey," Ryan said, putting on his king voice. Gavin squirmed in his spot and blushed. To be honest, the commanding tone turned him on. "Ray Narvaez Jr., Assassin of Ramsey. Welcome."

Michael nearly rolled his eyes. This guy was full of himself. Ray, on the other hand, nearly shit himself.

"King James Ryan Haywood," Michael said, voice booming across the room. "We are not here as a liability. We all would like to come to a reasonable compromise."

Ryan chuckled. "Oh? Is that so?"  Gavin's eyes widened. This wasn't part of the plan. "What, you'd like to split the lands in half? Share the income? Join our kingdoms?"

Michael blushed, but kept his head high. That was exactly what the compromise was going to be.

"Listen, man," Ray said, picking at his nails. Michael almost laughed - after 10 years of knowing Ray, he knew he only did it when he was nervous, but it made him look superior. "There's some extreme benefits. Have you seen the Ram-"

"I don't care," Ryan said. "All lands are better than half. That's a fact. And splitting with the Ramsey kingdom? Your king may be wealthier, but your people suffer."

Gavin tugged at his arm. "Ryan, this isn't what we talked about."

Ryan ignored him and stepped down from the throne. "You see, we may be smaller, but what we lack in numbers we gain in conviction. That's something your kingdom severely lacks."

"Ryan," Gavin said. He continued to ignore him.

Michael opened his mouth to speak, but Ryan cut him off once more. "It was foolish to come here. You knew it would only end in your demise."

"Ryan!"

“Surely you know your kingdom is losing this battle,” he said, turning away. “It would be a foolish move on my part.”

“I swear to God, Ry-”

"Guards," Ryan said. "I'm finished with them."

Ray looked to Michael and nodded. It was showtime.

It almost happened too quickly for Gavin to register. Ray reached for his belt, just like he did yesterday morning, and Gavin's eyes widened. He stepped slightly to the right when he felt the pain.

It was in his chest, just directly right of where his heart was. Ray's dagger, sticking straight out.

Ray stood with his jaw hanging open. _Fuck._ He made the mistake of underestimating Gavin.  

There was a sword at his throat in an instance, and then there wasn't. He looked to see Michael parrying his sword against Lindsay's blood red one. "Go, Ray!" Michael screamed.

"Kill them," Ryan whispered, eyes locked on Gavin, who stumbled around, grabbing his chest. He decided he didn't like the sight of blood anymore. "Fucking KILL THEM!"

"No," Gavin said, tripping against Ryan. "No."

Ray made a break for the door, but came to a halt when two guards came in with their spears pointed at him. That's fine, he could deal with two. There were only two.

Ryan drew his own sword from his sheath. Gavin's eyes widened. _No_. They'd all die. "Stop," he choked.

Ryan ignored him.

"Stop!" Gavin said louder, grasping at Ryan's arm with a bloody hand. Ryan yanked his arm away. "You don't kill, them," he coughed. "I don't care what you do to them but you do _not_ kill them."

Ryan gripped his sword tighter in his hand, black flames slowly emerging from the hilt. His knuckles turned white.

Ray gulped when he saw four more heavily armed guards surround him. He held his dagger up defensively and swiveled it in his hand.

It wasn't looking good.

"Ryan..." Gavin said, resting his bloody hand on Ryan's pale knuckles. He knew sanity wouldn't work here. "If you arrest them, then you can save them for later. And do whatever you want to them."

Ryan's heavy breath hitched at that, his eyes turning much darker than they were before. "Fine," he said, pointing his sword towards the guards. "Arrest them."

Michael gulped as the guards tugged his wrists behind him. As they tugged him outside the front doors, he wondered if being dead would be better than whatever was coming next. He desperately made eye contact with Gavin. _Would he really do that?_

Gavin finally collapsed, hands scrambling for the knife jutting out of his chest. "Out," he spluttered. "Get it out." He breathed in quick gasps, the blood blocking his airway.  
  
"No, Gavin," Ryan said, crouching down. "You need to keep that there. It's in your lung, baby, if you take it out you can't breathe. I promise. You'll be okay." He turned to Lindsay. "Why isn't Joel here yet? Go fucking get him!"  
  
"I can't feel it anymore," Gavin said, staring at the redstone lamps in the ceiling. "I can't feel anything." He looked down to see the knife. Green and silver. In the back of his mind, he always knew it would end with those colors.  
  
"Stay with me, Gav," Ryan said, brushing Gavin's hair out of his face. "You don't get to leave me just yet. You're stuck with me for a little while longer."  
  
"I was never stuck," he gasped, eyes going unfocused. "Geoff said I'm stuck. I'm not stuck with you. I'm just... here."  
  
Ryan nodded and kissed his forehead. "Well you're going to be here for a while longer, right?"  
  
Gavin smiled, a toothy grin coated in blood. "I love you." His gasping slowed.  
  
"I love you more," Ryan with a shaky voice. "You can't go to sleep yet."  
  
Gavin shook his head. "I'm not going to die, you tosser," he said, blood slowly trickling out of his mouth. "I thought you'd know me by now."

Joel busted through the door, lugging two boxes in his arms. Ryan bit a knuckle and let Joel shove him aside.

"I'll be okay, Ryan," Gavin said. He couldn't help the itching in the back of his mind.

Ray and Michael wouldn't be.

His mind hazed over when Joel pressed a foul smelling cloth against his mouth and nose.

Maybe they didn't _deserve_ to be okay.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

"Fuck!" Michael screamed, pounding his fist against the cobblestone wall. "What the fuck!"

Screams of pain and agony bounced throughout the entirety of the dungeon. The king really _was_ insane.

"I underestimated him," Ray said, his hand hovering over where his dagger usually was. They were confiscated as soon as they were arrested. "I shouldn't have underestimated him."

"No fucking shit!" Michael shouted, running his fingers through his hair. "He's Gavin fucking _Free_ , why would you _ever_ underestimate him?"

"What do you think they'll do to us?" Ray mumbled, his back hitting the wall and sliding down to his butt. "Do I want to know?"

Michael shivered and say next to Ray. "I think we'll find out soon enough."

"Maybe not," Ray said, patting around his pants. "Maybe I still have...." His eyes lit up. "Got it!"

"Got what?" Michael said, perking his head up.

Ray's bright smile contrasted with the dark room around them. "Lockpick."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I may or may not have removed Gavin's death from this...? Yeah I wanted it to be free from cliches but cliches are just so much fun


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the back of his mind, Gavin always knew that he was too easily manipulated. But it took Lindsay to bring it to the front of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> mhmm I haven't updated this in 36 years 
> 
> ***I EDITED THE LAST CHAPTER SO PLEASE GO READ THAT***
> 
> this is horribly formatted and 90% dialogue and very short so yeah be prepared for shit

Gavin woke with bleary eyes and a numb body. A pleasant humming came somewhere from his right side, and he struggled to turn his head to see who it was.

The humming stopped and he heard a scuffle where it came from. His eyes focused on the figure.

“You’re too easily manipulated.” It was Lindsay.

He opened his dry mouth to speak, but a sharp pain shot through his throat. “No,” she said, taking a sip out of her mug. “Don’t speak, just whisper today. You have stitches in your lungs. It’ll take a few weeks for you to fully heal, thanks to Joel’s potions. He’s a _mad_ brewer.”

He nodded and slumped his head down. This seemed to be happening to him a lot. His eyes widened, remembering the events from.... How long ago was that? Michael, and Ray, and…

“Ryan....” he whispered. “Where’s Ryan?” He feared the worst.

She shook her head. “He’s reissuing guard orders. Won’t be here for another hour or so.” She gazed out of the window, the sunlight bringing out the highlights in her red hair. “He’s not torturing anyone, if that’s what you were wondering. Since you seem to _care_ so much.”

He sighed and relaxed again.

“Speaking of which,” she said, finally turning towards Gavin. “Why _do_ you care so much?”

Gavin opened his mouth to speak, but quickly closed it again. The truth was, he didn’t really know.

She pulled a chair up next to his bed and sat down slowly, balancing her mug against her knee. “I want you to listen to my words very carefully, Gavin.”

He gulped and nodded. His mind was still groggy, but forced himself to snap out of it.

“I’m going to ask you a series of questions, and I want you to answer with what _logically_ makes sense. Can you do that?”

He nodded again.

“Good,” she said. “Let’s start out with an easy one. What’s your name?”

He paused. “Gavin Free,” he whispered. “What are you getting at?”

“Hmmm,” she said, clicking her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “Why Free? Aren’t you a Ramsey?”

He paled. “No,” he whispered. “I’m not. I was, though.”

“And why are you Free, instead of Ramsey? Is it because they just tried to kill you, as soon as you trusted them again?”

He turned away from her again. _Oh_. He knew where this was going. They were probably accusing him of mutiny. “Because I ran away from home when I was eight years old. Ryan took me in, and let me pick my own name. Look, if this is-”

“Why did you pick Free?” She interrupted.

“Because I was Free from the Ramseys,” he whispered. It was a struggle to not use his voice.

“From what I’ve heard, the Ramseys are lovely folk. Why would you need to be free from them?” She narrowed her eyes.

He stopped and thought about it. “Because….” he stuttered. “They’re liars.”

“Mmm,” she said. “But didn’t Ryan lie to you, too?”

His throat tightened. “Yes. He did.”

“So I’ll ask you again - why do you _want_ to be Gavin Free, and not Gavin Ramsey?”

He swallowed hard. He was beginning to feel the pain in his chest again.

“I just…” he started. “This is my home.”

“Hmph,” she said. “You didn’t answer me. Why do you want to be Free?”

He thought about it for a long while.

The Haywood Kingdom was a lovely place. The people were happy, and it was very wealthy. Ryan was kind to him…. though he wasn’t always kind to everyone.

The Ramsey Kingdom was also very lovely. The people weren’t as happy, and it was even _more_ wealthy. Geoff was kind to everyone. _All_ the time.

Geoff was a liar, but Ryan was also a liar. So why did he…

“Because I love Ryan,” he whispered to himself. “It’s because I love Ryan.”

Lindsay smiled and leaned back into her chair. “I told you to answer logically.”

“I can’t answer with logic,” he said. “It doesn't make sense to me, either.”

She grinned. “There it is,” she said, her eyes brightening. “The balance between logic and feeling.”

He cocked his head. “What are you on about?”

“You’ve struggled with this for a while. When someone messes with your feelings, your logic goes with it. This is why you’re easily manipulated.”

“Oh,” he said, slumping down into his bed. “Oh.”

“So, I have another question for you. This one isn’t black or white.” She cleared her throat and leaned in closely. “Wouldn’t Gavin Haywood make more sense than Gavin Free?”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t… I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I suppose.”

She softly smiled and took another sip from her mug. “So you’re Gavin Free because you love Ryan Haywood. You can’t love Ryan Haywood while you’re a Ramsey.”

“Yeah,” he said, before realizing he wasn’t supposed to use his voice. He nodded instead. “I realized I love my family these past few weeks. Just, not as much as I love Ryan. So… I picked Ryan.”

“The people already consider you a prince, Gavin. You’re the assumed heir to the throne.” She stood once more and set her cup down. “But not legally.”

He frowned again. “What are you saying?”

“You have to pick a side, Gavin. If you truly love Ryan,” she said, heading out the door, “then the coronation is next week, and you will become Gavin Haywood.”

He gulped.

“But don’t let me tell you what to do,” she said again, turning her head backwards. “You can figure it out for yourself.”

When Lindsay’s presence left the room, he dropped his head against his pillow.

_What the fuck?_

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

They were prisoners of war.

There was no beating around the bush. Michael could pretend that Gavin was dead, and they could pretend that Ryan wasn’t out of his _fucking_ mind. But Gavin was alive (and probably _very_ angry with them), and Ryan was batshit crazy.

“I don’t know why he hasn’t come for us yet,” Ray said, counting the guards that passed their cell. He was trying to find a break in the pattern so it was safe to escape. “You saw those flames, right?”

Michael nodded and rested his head against the wall. How could he miss the black fire that fucking _bled_ from his sword? “Wither flames. Fueled by anger.”

“I heard it enters your bloodstream,” Ray whimpered. “Burns you from the inside out.”

“We’ll get out of here, man,” Michael whispered low enough for only Ray to hear, eyeing the guard in front of the bars. “If we’re lucky, that’s the only thing he’ll do to us.”

The guard stood at attention, and Ray’s eyes widened. There was _no way_ he heard that.

“It’s my two favorite Kittens,” a deep voice said, booming across the dungeon.

The dungeon screams silenced.

Ryan came into view, his crown slightly off kilter - as always. He swiveled his black sword in one hand, the other resting on his hip. “I thought you’d be glad to know that Gavin is alive and well.” He grinned madly.

They both gulped when the wither flames raced down the edge of his sword.

They were _so_ fucked. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like comments :^) comment to help this lil guy eat today :^)


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's hospitalization helped him develop some morals. 
> 
> Problem is, he seems to be the only one with any at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the nice comments! They encouraged me to get another chapter out :)
> 
> You guys have no idea how much comments and kudos improve my mood. It makes me feel like my writing isn't 100% garbage <3

_“No, I won’t kill you,” Ryan said with a sickly sweet smile. He slowly rose his sword to Michael’s neck, black and blue flames trickling down from the hilt of the jagged blade. “That would be too boring.”_

_“Fuck off,” Michael spat. He leaned away from the flames threatening to brush his skin._

_“Big words for a man with a sword to his neck,” Ryan said, his sword hovering over Michael's Mark of Thane. “No, it would be foolish for me to kill Ramsey's protector.”_

It might be merciful if you do _, Ray thought._

_Ryan barely tapped his sword to the tattoo, and Michael reeled over in pain._

_“Fuck!” he screamed, clamping his hands to his throat. The flames danced around the mark before disappearing completely, leaving angry red marks where they connected with his skin._

_Ryan smiled at his guttural screech. "Oops." He turned his eyes to Ray, who had his wide eyes fixed on Michael._

_“You,” he said. “You’re the one that nearly took my Gavin away from me.”_

_Ray kept his mouth shut._

_“A quiet one,” he mumbled. “Such a shame. I could’ve used you.”_

_Ryan turned to the guard and nodded his head. He opened the cell for him, and quickly closed it behind him._

_“Need I remind you, gentlemen,” he whispered, “that the only reason you’re alive is because I’d like for Gavin to decide for himself what to do with you. I’m sure he’d be_ very _glad to make the same decision I would,_ assassin _.”_

_Ray gulped. And Michael just screamed._

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Wouldn’t marriage make more sense than a bloody coronation, Ryan?” Gavin asked, sitting on the arm of Ryan’s throne. His sternum was almost healed - he just needed another week and he would be ready to fight again. Joel's potions did wonders, but they turned his mind to mush.

“No,” Ryan said, scratching at his stubble. “Well, we’d still be married, yeah. But the kingdom needs the morale boost. Times have been tough lately.”

“I don’t know anything about politics,” Gavin whined. “They bore me so much.”

Ryan chuckled and took Gavin’s hand into his own. “You’ll be fine,” he said. “You have time to learn. I’m only 38, I’m not going anywhere any time soon.” He smiled and kissed his hand.

Gavin’s stomach fluttered with butterflies. “I suppose you’re right.”

"I know. You're not having doubts about marrying me, are you?"

"Of course not," Gavin said. Despite his mind feeling like mush, there was one thing he had a clear head on. He was in love with Ryan. He was with the Haywood Kingdom now, and would _not_ return with the Ramsey traitors. _No matter how much he cared for them_. "You know that I don't." He pulled him in for an even longer kiss.

Gavin's heart fluttered when Ryan brought a hand to his cheek.

"I love you," Gavin mumbled against his lips. He opened his eyes and shied under Ryan's intense gaze.

"I love you more."

Gavin pulled away from him and nuzzled into his shoulder. It was nice to have some time with Ryan. They barely even got to see each other anymore.

A comfortable silence fell between the two. _This_ is where he's meant to be.

As Gavin closed his eyes and rested his head against the back of the chair, he felt his mind go numb. It was something he’d been feeling ever since he woke from the incident.

Some kind of _emptiness_ was creeping into the back of his mind, beckoning him to give into it. It promised a clear, blissful head. He hadn't given in - not yet - but only because he was wary of what would happen if he did.

It reminded him of his month long journey to the Nether. He started hearing these whispers that dragged across his mind like fingertips. He’d only brought it up to Ryan once, but he just brushed it off. _It happens to me all the time_ , he said. _Probably just one of Joel’s potions_.   
  
He wasn’t entirely sure that put his mind at ease. Maybe it was just Joel's potions, but it didn't lessen the temptation.

He nervously fiddled with the ring on his thumb. It felt good to have it on his finger again - he left it on their bedside the night he was captured. That was nearly three months ago.

“Your Majesty,” a voice said, breaking Gavin out of his thoughts. It was Kerry, Gavin noted. There was still sweat beaded on his forehead - from training the new recruits, Gavin assumed.

“Hmm?” Ryan said lazily.

“The courier you’ve been waiting for is here,” he said. “From King Hullum.”

Ryan sat up straight. “Finally,” he said. “Gavin, I have to attend to this. Do you want to come?”

Gavin lolled his head over to see Ryan smiling softly at him. “Meh,” he said. “Politics. I’m not interested.”

“Well, there _is_ something I think you’d be interested in,” he said. “I think you’ve been away from Michael and Ray long enough to clear your head,” he said, slowly rising from his throne. “If you wish, you can go see them today.”

Gavin perked up. “Really?” he asked. “You mean it?”

Ryan nodded and pulled Gavin in for a kiss that left him light-headed. “I do. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to accompany you. I just have to trust that you won’t release them, right?”

Gavin shook his head rapidly. “Rye, I'm not bloody mental!"

Ryan grinned. “Great,” he said. “Oh! And don't forget. You have dance lessons tonight. You may be a skilled hunter, but I don't want you fumbling around at the coronation.”

Gavin snorted. "Is this what I have to look forward to as your lovely queen?"

Ryan chuckled and started to follow Kerry to the war room. "You wish."

Gavin smiled. He'd been waiting for this. He had _big_ plans.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

It wasn't the first time he'd been down to the dungeons, but it definitely felt like it. The pained screams were a sour reminder that Ryan wasn't exactly who he seemed to be.

He made eye contact with a guard and he spluttered. "Prince Gavin?" He started, standing at attention. "I thought it was the King's orders to not let you down here."

"King changed his mind," Gavin said, anxiously looking around the guard's shoulder. "Can you show me where they are?"

"Of course," he said. He didn't even have to ask who. "Right this way."

He was led down a spiral staircase. Torch sconces lined the walls as they descended. "Their weapons were confiscated, right? Where did you put them?"

"In weapon containment."

"Cool, cool," he said looking behind his shoulder. "Where uh, where would that happen to be?"

The guard narrowed his eyes and slowed his pace. "Why do you need to know?"

Gavin feigned puppy eyes. "They tried to kill me. I-I want to make to sure they can't try it again."

The guard's eyes softened. "Of course. Forgive my misunderstanding, your Royal Highness," he said. "It's just past their cell, three doors to the right."

"Right, right," he said.

"Speaking of which, they're up here," the guard said, pointing towards a single unguarded cell. "This one's preserved for prisoners of war."

"Thank you," Gavin nodded. "I'll put in a good word for you to Ryan."

The guard backed away and bowed his head. "Let me know when you're ready to leave."

Gavin took a deep breath and stepped towards the bars.

He found Ray sitting on the floor with his back slumped against the wall. Michael's head was cradled the other boy's hands, and he whimpered softly in his sleep. Ray gently combed his fingers through his unruly curls.

He took a deep breath. “Lads,” Gavin said, approaching the bars with a confident saunter. “Been awhile since we've seen each other. Not since you tried to kill me, huh?”

Ray's head shot up and he jostled Michael's head. “Gavin, I’m so sorry. You know that it wasn-”

“Wasn’t what?” Gavin said, cocking his head innocently. “Personal? It kinda feels personal.”

Michael groaned and rolled over to his back. He blinked his eyes open and stared at the ceiling. He still had a hand cupped to his throat.

Gavin grinned. “It seems that you’ve been well acquainted with wither flames,” he said. “Made a special trip to the nether myself just for that reason. I lost 32 men to the Wither for it. Worth it, it seems.”

Michael mumbled something under his breath, but Gavin turned his head back to Ray.

“Gav, please don’t let this reflect poorly on Geoff. We had a stupid idea, and we fucked up. We’re sorry.”

“Don’t let this reflect poorly on Geoff?” He spat. “Oh, you mean the fact that the two men he trusts most tried to kill me? Yeah, you’re right, that doesn’t reflect poorly on him at all.”

He turned away from the boys. “I had a talk with Lindsay about manipulation. I won’t let myself be manipulated by you two again.”

“Manipulated by us?!? Gavin, Ryan is fucking insane! Can’t you see that?”

“Hmm,” Gavin said, tapping his finger against his chin. “Well, have you ever considered that I’m off my rocker, too?”

Ray shied away and twiddled with the ring on his middle finger.

“I’ve been doubting it, I guess,” Gavin said. “Oh well."

"Why did you even come here, Gavin?" Ray asked. "If you're just here to laugh at us, then congrats. You did it. But I doubt that's it."

He shrugged. "Just wanted to see if you were alive."

"You damn well knew we were alive. What's the real reason?"

Gavin sighed. "Fine." He eyed the guard and gestured him over. "Let me in."

"Are you sure? I've been given orders to not let anyone but the King in..."

"Yeah? Well your orders have just been overridden."

He opened his mouth but nodded and fumbled with a bunch keys. Who was he to deny Gavin? He hastily shoved it into the lock and it opened with a creak.

"If you could give us some privacy," Gavin said.

"Of course. Knock on the bars when you're ready to go."

Gavin stepped in and sat next to Ray. When he was sure that the guard was far enough away, his face softened. "I just want to know why," he said. "I want to know why you took all that time to get me to trust you, only to abandon that trust - in my own kingdom, of all places."

They were all three silent until Michael finally rasped what they were all thinking.

"We saw the King."

Gavin smiled at the boy. "And you were disturbed by my loyalty."

"How far would you go for him, Gavin?" Michael whispered. "What's one thing you wouldn't do for him?"

Gavin thought about it for a while, but he knew that he didn't need to. "Nothing," he said. "I would do anything for him."

"Even if it meant dropping to your knees and slicing your own throat?"

Gavin nodded.

"Then that's all the reason you need," he said.

Gavin laughed. "Are you just bothered because I'm more loyal to my King than you are to yours?"

"It's different than that. Our King would never ask us to do something like that," Ray said. "It's not a scenario we have to come up with, because he's not _fucking_ insane."

Gavin scrunched his nose. "You're right. He's insane. But that doesn't make Geoff a better King, now does it?"

"Kinda does," Ray said.

“Gavin,” Michael rasped. “Just let us go. You’re all for a fair fight, right? Does this look fair to you?”

“No, it doesn’t,” he said. “But it wouldn’t be very advantageous to the kingdom if you just up and left, now would it be?”

“Since when do you give a fuck about politics, Gavin?” Ray asked.

“Oh, you haven’t heard?” Gavin grinned widely. “I’m going to be the King. I need to learn a thing or two.”

Michael paled even more than he had already. “I thought you were already the Prince.”

“Not officially, no,” he said, clasping his hands in his lap. “But now I will be. Gavin Haywood, at your service,” he said, bowing his head slightly.

“This is a bad dream,” Ray said. “It has to be.”

“Geoff is gonna be pissed,” Michael sputtered.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Gavin said. “Geoff is invited to the coronation next week.”

“Next week?” Michael roared. “Your coronation is _next week?!?_ ”

Gavin nodded. "I'd invite you, but I don't think you'll last that long. You know what's coming."

They stayed silent. Of course they did.

"Ryan is going to kill you. It will be slow, humiliating, and very, _very_ painful."

Michael opened his mouth to speak, but Gavin shushed him. "I'm not going to let him."

"But wouldn't it be _advantageous_ if he did?"

"Yeah," Gavin said. "Very much so. But I've grown quite fond of you two. Regardless of colors and which king we serve, I don't want you two to die."

There was silence.

"...What?"

"There's a benefit to my position, Ray," he grinned. He leaned in closely to Ray to ensure guard wouldn't hear him. "I'm not held responsible if you two manage to, let's say... _escape_."

Their jaws nearly hit the floor.

"We can't escape," Ray said. "There's no pattern in the guards, and we don't have weapons to defend ourself."

"You have your fists for the first guard. And... your weapons may or may not be three doors down to the right. But you didn't hear it from me," he said, rising from his spot on the floor with a grunt.  

"Gavin..." Ray started. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want to, Ray," he said. "I've had a few weeks to think about it. We may be at war, but our lives will last longer than it. And I particularly care for yours."

Michael dragged himself to a sitting position with a whimper. "You're kidding me."

"Not entirely. Oh, and one more thing."

"Anything for the prince," Michael muttered sarcastically.

"Give me your ring," he said, looking towards Ray. "And I won't tell them about that lockpick hiding in your left shoe."

Ray sputtered and slapped a hand over his shoe. "How did you know that?"

Gavin grinned. "I didn't. Hand it over." Ray grumbled with annoyance but slid it off his finger anyway. He knew he was _never_ supposed to take off his ring, but better that than Ryan coming back down here. "Thank you very much." He slid it into his pocket and knocked twice on the iron bars.

The guard opened the cell just long enough for Gavin to step through. "Will we see each other again, Gavin?" Ray said, eyeing the guard.

Gavin shrugged. "Why would we? We're not even friends. You tried to kill me, remember?"

He turned and left without another word, leaving the boys stunned.

"That's rude," Ray said. "I thought he was 'rather fond' of us."

"Shut the hell up, Ray."

"Yeah, yeah. What else do you ever say?"

Gavin chuckled at the distant banter. He thumbed the ring in his pocket. 

He may care for these two, but he cared for the success of his kingdom as well. With this, he could have the best of both worlds. 

He would make Ryan proud.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Geoff placed his head in his hands. His bloodshot eyes shifted from his sword to the warm beer in front of him, forgotten hours ago.

_It's been weeks._

He was drunk, but he sure as hell didn't feel like it. His pounding head only accentuated his worried thoughts.

_They should've been back by now._

Griffon's attempts to comfort him were dismissed with angry grunts and dirty looks.

_The Mad King has them now. He's won the war._

“Geoff,” Jeremy said warily, barely stepping into the King’s living quarters with a hesitant pace. He scrunched his nose. It _reeked_ of booze. "A courier just arrived. He said it was urgent.”

Geoff stood from his chair and regretted it immediately. His head pounded even harder.

“Do I want to know who it’s from?”

Jeremy avoided his eyes. “...King Haywood himself, sir.”

He instantly sobered. Fuck. He doubted it was an admittance of defeat. “Do you have it? I need to see it,” he said.

Jeremy nodded and pulled a small package from his coat. Geoff snatched it from his hand and ripped it open with ease. Inside was delicately decorated card.

“To King Geoff and Queen Griffon of House Ramsey,” Geoff started, eyes narrowing. “We cordially invite you to…”

His jaw dropped and his throat tightened. No.

“...the coronation of Gavin _Haywood_?”

They both paled.

“There’s... there's package that came with it too,” Jeremy croaked. It was a small sack, tied together with a short string.

With numb fingers, Geoff untied the small sack. He shook the contents into his open palm.

“Oh my god,” he said, dropping it out of his palm. It tinkered to the floor. He slapped a hand over his mouth and choked back tears.

Without a word, Jeremy picked it off the floor and gasped. It was a ring - a silver band, with a bright emerald in the middle. An R was encrusted into the band.

_The symbol of an assassin._

"Ray," Jeremy whispered.

Geoff walked to the large window overlooking the kingdom. The sunset painted his face with a light orange.

“We lost them,” Geoff whispered, turning away from the window and burying his head in his own shoulder. "He would never take it off himself."

"So what does this mean?" Jeremy asked, shuffling in place. "What game is this _murderer_  playing?"

"He wants a fight," Geoff said, eyes filling with rage. "There's no reason he'd send me an invitation for any reason other than to piss me the _fuck_ off."

Geoff's sword seemed to respond to his rage. It crackled with silver lightning, charging the air around them. The sky above the kingdom darkened, and the clouds blocked away the last few streams of sunlight. He picked up the greatsword and swiveled it in his hand, causing the land to shake with thunder.

 _A lion's roar_. 

"If it's a fight he wants, then it's a mother-fucking fight he's gonna get."

 

~~~~

 

In the distance, miles away, The Mad King gazed at the lightning through dark eyes. A sly grin slipped onto his face when Gavin wrapped his arms around his waist and nuzzled his nose into his shoulder. 

"You've done well," he said, turning to place a kiss the top of his head. "You'll make a fine king."

Gavin grinned and slipped his hand through the King's. His heart swelled with the approval he'd been seeking since he came to this kingdom. Silver lightning bounced off his bright eyes.

"I know." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, uhh, I might be making a thing. It may or may not involve art for each of the characters here...? BUT I CAN'T GET MICHAEL'S FACE RIGHT. http://consumer-of-pumpkins.tumblr.com/post/130384907647/add-me-on-snapchat-at-ariellels-for-more
> 
> Feel free to follow me at my main blog at consumer-of-pumpkins.tumblr.com because I'd like to get to know some of you :D you're all incredible people and ily 
> 
> (i have no idea what it looks like on desktop oops)


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin's coronation was supposed to be simple. 
> 
> Instead, he found The Red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter concludes Phase I of this story. I'm super excited to see what you guys think about it :D  
> This is the beginning of what I've been hinting at since the end of Chapter 8. 
> 
> For reference: Gavin's looks exactly like he does in AHWU #113. Trust me, after you read this, you'll see why it's important. Young, bright eyed, and carefree Gavin won't last for very long. Oops.

To say that Gavin was nervous was an understatement.

As the handmaidens bustled around him, struggling to get every last piece of hair in place, he couldn't help but focus on the loud chatter outside of the room.

The ceremony would be held in the throne room, as every ceremony is. _His_ struggle would be making it up the 236 steps without tripping.

 _The entire bloody kingdom must be out there_ , he thought. _I can't do this._

"There," one of the ladies said, taking a step back to admire her work. "My masterpiece."

He turned to look at himself in the grand mirror and gaped at what he saw. He looked good. Like, _really_ good.

"One last thing," the head maiden said, opening a small velvet box. “This is the same one our King wore on his coronation.” She pulled out a long, blood red silk cloak. As she draped it over his shoulders, he noticed the subtle eagle embroidered into the fabric.

"Well..." he trailed, bringing a hand up to touch his wind blown hair. "I definitely look like a prince."

"Wait until you see the King," she said, smoothing out the shiny blue sash on his chest. “I had my best workers on him today.”

"Just make sure to keep it in your pants," a voice said from the doorway. He tore his eyes away from his reflection to find Lindsay leaning against the doorway with her arms crossed. She was in her ceremonial gear - it didn’t offer much protection, but at least it was pretty. She would be the one protecting Gavin this time.

"Linds!" He squealed, charging headfirst to give her a hug. She slammed a hand into his chest to stop him.

"Woah now," she grinned. "I wouldn't want to mess up your hair. It’s definitely something else."

He pouted but nodded anyway. "I don’t know what to do,” he pouted. “I'm so bloody nervous."

She shrugged and stepped away from the door. "You were this nervous at your assassin's initiation too. Remember when you had to drink 'the blood of the fallen assassins' and thought it was actual blood? It was just juice."

He cringed at the memory. He wasn't supposed to tell anyone that it was _actually_ blood.

"I'm going to muck it up," he said. "I'm going to trip and the whole kingdom is going to laugh at me."

"Of course not," she said, resting a hand on his shoulder, ignoring the maiden’s annoyed huff. "Gods, you're going to freak out on your wedding day more than I will on mine."

He opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by a knocking on the door. "Guys?" Kerry said, peeking his head through the door. "I hate to interrupt, but... It's show time."

Gavin gulped and grabbed onto Lindsay's arm. _Was it 5 o'clock already? It was noon just an hour ago, wasn’t it?_ Lindsay gripped the hilt of her sword and nodded. "You'll be fine and you know it. I’ll be right behind you."

 _Deep breaths_ , he thought as Lindsay shook his arm off and nudged him through the door. _Deep breaths._

Gavin brought a hand to shield his eyes from the blinding afternoon light. His knees wobbled underneath him when he heard the thunderous roar of the kingdom welcoming him.

He thought he was kidding when he said the entire kingdom was there, but there were _hundreds_ of people, cramming against each other behind the short walls of the steps. They reached towards him and grasped like their lives depended on it.

Sweat beaded on his forehead and he finally took a deep breath, putting on a bright smile and waving gently to the people.

The afternoon sun was harsh on his skin, but when he turned to look at his cape, he gasped. The sunlight reflected off the silk beautifully, making it look like he was leaving a trail of blazing fire.

He took a minute to glance at the people grinning and waving to him. _They’re here for me. Would they even care if he messed up, or would they just look past it?_ It put more of a spring in his step. _I'm just their goofy Prince if I do._

With each step up the massive stairs, he gained a little more confidence. His grin became more sincere and his waves more frequent. By the time he was at the open throne room doors, he was brimming with confidence.

The guards uncrossed their spears covering the doors. When Gavin nodded respectfully and took step into the large throne room, his breath hitched.

When he saw Ryan sitting in his throne, his heart nearly stopped.

His polished crown was actually centered for once, with his ceremonial robes draping around his figure elegantly. His own blue cloak was sprawled across the floor leading up to the throne. The stubble on his chin was shaved down to a science, eyes an impossible blue. At his side was his great-sword, the one that Gavin traveled to the Nether himself to retrieve. 

Gavin’s confidence slowly burned away at sight the powerful man, but he stepped forth anyway. He climbed the last few steps up to the throne and knelt, ripping his eyes away from Ryan. He balanced his arm on his knee and stared at the floor.

As Ryan rose from his throne, the entire room silenced. Gavin trembled - he’d forgotten how much respect came with being king.

The gravity of the situation caught up to him, and his gut twisted in an unpleasant way. _He_ was going to be the prince. _He_ was going the be the King. _He_ was going to be the one that silenced rooms when he stood. Would he be able to manage that same power?

“Gavin Ramsey,” Ryan’s voice boomed. He cringed at the name. It was bitter on his ears, but he knew he had to put up with it for legal reasons. “Heir to the Ramsey throne, come to claim the Haywood throne.”

Mumbles started bouncing through the room once more at the name, but Ryan raised his hand to silence them. Gavin rolled his eyes away from ground. These people all knew that he was Geoff’s son, so what was the big deal?

“You are here to become my heir. You will uphold all of my duties, should I suddenly become incapable of doing such deeds. You must swear to uphold these duties before you become the rightful heir.”

Gavin gulped and nodded but bit his tongue. He wasn't supposed to respond to that.

“Do you swear to protect this Kingdom with everything you have?”

Gavin’s throat tightened. _Oh_. He was supposed to speak. _Come on. Just like you rehearsed._ “I swear.”

“Do you swear to preserve peace within the Kingdom?”

“I swear.”

“Do you swear to put your own personal prejudice aside, in favor of ruling the Kingdom?”

He paused at this one, but snapped out of it. “I swear.”

Ryan nodded Joel over. On the pillow in his hands, there was a delicate silver crown. Its ornate curves were short, but elegant nonetheless.

“Look at me,” he said.

Gavin forced his eyes upward to look at Ryan. He nearly cowered in fear. _He looks so bloody powerful. I can never look that powerful._

“May Death and Storm witness this union. Not by blood, but by title, you shall be reborn," he started, gripping the hilt of his blade. Black flames rose to his palm and danced around his fingertips. 

Gavin's blood turned to ice. This was  _not_ part of their rehearsal.  _Wither flames?_

"I, King James Ryan Haywood VII, declare you, Gavin Ramsey of House Ramsey, to be re-titled to Gavin Haywood, and heir to the Haywood throne.”

The flames trailed down to him thumb and with one quick motion, he pressed it against Gavin's forehead. 

 _Claws_. They felt like claws. Dragging across his mind like sharp nails. All he could see was red, pure red, in his thoughts and in his vision and he was swimming he was drowning he could  _smell it and taste it and Gods it was so good he wanted more he wanted it to consume him whole -_ _  
_

But just like that, it sizzled away. Gavin released a breath he didn't know he was holding. _What the bloody **fuck** was that?_

Ryan reached for the crown and placed it on Gavin’s messy hair, admiring how perfectly it nestled on his head. “You may rise.”

Gavin rose with weak knees.  _There was only red. Where did it go?_  That emptiness was back in his mind and he wanted to give in so badly, but he made eye contact with Ryan and his eyes said it all.  _Not here. Not yet._  His eyes darted across the room, there were so many people  _watching and did they see it too and -_ _  
_

Ryan raised both of his arms and grinned something absolutely _sinister_ and all of a sudden -

 _Gavin understood_.

He understood the madness. They'd both seen the red; they both  _understood_.

The Mad King cocked his head. "All hail Prince Gavin."  _Mad King - what a truly fitting name._

The deafening applause pulled him out of his stupor and he looked around to see everyone in an uproar. He shook the thought of the delicious _crimson_ out of his mind and reminded himself where he was - at his coronation, at his _wedding_. _This isn't over, Ryan. We are going to have a **serious** talk. _

He grinned and had to restrain himself from launching into Ryan’s arms, but settled for snuggling into his side instead. Ryan wrapped an arm around his waist and kissed the top of his head. He could feel that his grip was stronger than it was before, like he knew _exactly_ what Gavin was going through.

Gavin gripped Ryan's side with trembling arms. He looked up to his bright blue eyes and grinned to see that he was already gazing down with a quirked eyebrow.

Ryan grabbed his hips and pulled him into a short kiss that left Gavin feeling dizzy. The crowd cheered.

The loud bells at the tower rung in the distance, signifying a new member of the royal family.

Gavin pulled away from his lips and grinned again. Ryan just reconnected them. He couldn’t believe it.

_Gavin Haywood._

 

~~~~

 

“Go, fucking GO!” Michael shouted, shoving Ray through the small doorway to the dungeons.

“Dagger, I need my dagger,” Ray said, catching the small blade Michael threw towards him. “Left, then a right. Come on! Let’s go!”

Michael led them, sprinting through the corridors as fast as he could. They would’ve tried the stealth tactic, but _that_ plan already failed. He wished that Gavin would’ve gone into more depth about Lindsay’s security plan, because _apparently_ there was a redstone circuit that needed to be broken before they opened the door to their weapons, or a horrible horn would screech.

They hand their weapons, and there was _definitely_ a horrible horn screeching. 

Ray turned to get a glimpse of the guards nipping at their heels and regretted it instantly. “How many?” Michael gasped, yanking the smaller boy through the next turn.

“1, 2 - a whole fucking lot!” he said.

“We can’t go through the throne room,” Michael said. “Any other exits?”

“Shit, um,” he said, eyes frantically darting across the room. His face brightened. “Window!”

“I’m not a fucking twig, if you haven’t noticed,” Michael said, briefly flexing his arm. Despite the situation, he chuckled. He’d forgotten that he was _Mogar_ , and Mogar was fucking _ripped_.

“Just go, you can fit. We don’t exactly have many other choices here!”

“Fine,” he said. “Let’s go.” Michael ripped the pane off with one hand and threw it behind him. He hoisted himself out and hit the ground running.

Ray panted and dodged an arrow sent from the window, sprinting at full speed down the hillside. “East! Go East!”

Michael made a sharp turn and leaped onto a cobblestone wall lining a side street. “GO!”

Ray bounced from rooftop to rooftop, knocking off a few shingles with each leap. “The walls! Make it outside the walls!”

Michael nodded and picked up his pace.

Ray’s chest tightened when he heard the bells in the distance. _What’s done is done_ , he thought. _Just get the hell out of here._

It seemed like they’d been running for hours, but they finally made it to the main gates of the city. “We have to fight,” Michael said, eyeing the guards chatting in a group.

“Or, we could just walk past,” Ray said, gripping the back of Michael’s shirt. He barely stopped to catch a breath. “We ran like fucking animals. There’s no way these guys know about our break.”

Michael nodded and sheathed his sword. “Be ready, just in case.”

They tiptoed through the iron gate, the freshly fallen leaves crunching under their feet. The guards barely spared a second glance at the ‘way worn travelers.’

“Get to that treeline, and then we run,” Ray whispered. “On my mark. One, two, three, g-”

He was interrupted with a blinding flash of pain in his leg.

He collapsed to the ground with a thud that knocked the air out of his lungs. He shifted to his side and cradled his leg. “Oh,” he mumbled, bringing his fingertips to face, only to see blood coating his white gloves. “...Oh.”

"Get them!” A man shouted, lowering his bow. Michael’s eyes were fixed on the arrow sticking through his best friend’s thigh, but twisted to see who shot his friend. He could only make out his curly hair and dark orange armor before the soldiers started charging.

 _Kovic's men?_ Michael shook his head. There was no _way_ they were here. They were just Haywood's men. 

“Run, Michael!” He shouted. “You have to go without me!”

Michael rolled his eyes. “Fuck that,” he said, scooping Ray into his arms. “Let’s fucking go, boy.”

He cradled Ray to his chest, and turned to sprint towards the treeline. He weaved through the arrows shooting at his heels and ducked beneath the cover of the trees. He heard slowing footsteps behind him. _Of course Haywood’s men would give up that quickly,_ he thought. _They’re Haywood’s men._ Dark and angry clouds blocked out the last few rays of sunlight.

_But were they really Haywood's men?_

Michael cursed when he felt the first raindrop on his skin.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The ballroom was unlike anything Gavin had ever seen. He’d seen the room itself, of course, but not when elegant gowns and sharp suits danced across the floor, the grand chandelier illuminating their steps.

Gavin grinned and gripped Ryan’s arm a little tighter. The guests noticed them quickly, and broke into another applause. Gavin ducked his head into Ryan’s shoulder and smiled. He felt his crown shift against his head - he doubted he’d get used to the feeling any time soon.

“Well, I suppose we should go greet our guests, shouldn’t we?” Ryan murmured against his hair, leading him down the steps to the party.

Immediately, he was swarmed with congratulations. He did his best to thank them all, but he mainly hid behind Ryan and let him do the talking.

“Who even are these people?” Gavin asked, hanging onto his arm for dear life. “I don’t recognize anyone,” he said, smiling at someone who handed him a goblet of wine.

“Mainly townsfolk,” Ryan said, begrudgingly taking a sip from the cup. Gavin cringed - he knew he hated alcohol. “Lords, princes, princesses, war veterans. Although there’s someone else here that’s been _dying_ to meet you,” he said.

Gavin quirked an eyebrow. “Who would that be?”

Ryan just smiled and handed his cup to a passing guest. They fawned over having ‘ _King Haywood’s cup!!_ ’ “I’m sure you two will be well acquainted soon.”

Gavin entwined his fingers with Ryan’s. “Hey,” he mumbled into his shoulder. “I love you.”

Ryan smiled and kissed him softly on his lips, for the second time since his coronation. He was surprised there was no attention from the guests, but the shock of their arrival seemed to wear off, and they went back to drinking.

Ryan reluctantly pulled away and gripped Gavin's hips. "Would you do me the honor of having our first dance, _Prince Haywood?_ "

Gavin giggled and grabbed one of his hands. "Pleasure's all mine."

Ryan led them into a slow waltz and smiled at the clumsy boy. He didn't know how it was possible for such a skilled hunter to have two left feet.

"I'm glad you made me take those lessons," he mumbled into his shoulder. "When do I learn that you're always right?"

Ryan laughed and twirled him around, careful not to step on the younger man's cloak.

Gavin was starting to feel comfortable in the spotlight. He could feel eyes watching his every move, but he couldn't bring himself to care. It was like Ryan took away others judgement.

"I want you to explain whatever happened to me," Gavin whispered. "And why you didn't tell me it was going to happen."

Ryan smiled and laughed into his neck. "I had to see if Death would accept you," he said. "I can explain it tonight."

Gavin nodded. This wasn't exactly the best place to talk about something like that. Besides, he was enjoying himself for once.

He should've learned by now that good things never last between the two of them.

“Your Majesty,” a voice behind them said. Gavin lifted his head to see a red faced guard huffing for breath, his helmet resting at his side. "I have urgent news."

"It better be important enough to interrupt," Ryan mumbled, stepping out of the dance. Gavin pouted, but let go of Ryan anyway. He couldn't help but smile when the king kept their fingers interlocked.

His side suddenly felt cold.

The guard leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. Like a switch, Ryan’s eyes grew dark. “I see,” he said aloud, slipping his fingers out of Gavin’s. “I hate to leave you, but I must attend to this.”

Gavin's heart throbbed with abandonment - he hadn't felt that way since the morning he came to the Kingdom. “Well...what is it then? Can't I know?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“Of course you bloody can!” he said, stomping his foot like a child. “I’m a prince again, aren’t I? Shouldn’t I also be informed about… whatever it is that I should be informed about?”

Ryan thought for a minute before sighing in defeat. “Fine,” he said. “Ramsey’s men have escaped.”

Gavin tried to hide the flip in his chest at their success. _They did it_. “Oh,” he said, looking to the ground to stop a smile from manifesting itself. “What do we do?”

“ _You_ enjoy the party,” Ryan said. “I’ll be gone for no more than half an hour. Go...mingle, okay?”

Gavin rolled his eyes but stomped away in frustration anyway. It wasn’t unlike Ryan to leave him alone in situations he hated.

He found himself headed towards the massive food table on the outskirts of the crowd. He leaned against the wall near it and gazed at the drunken party, sipping out of his cup with disdain.

“Not much of a party person either, I see?” A voice to his left asked. He didn’t bother shifting his gaze.

“I am. Just not when it's a _wedding_ party and I get ditched by my husband.”

“I feel it,” he said, moving closer to Gavin. “They tend to get drunk pretty quickly at these things, huh?”

 _They?_   That didn’t sound like something a towns person would say. He quickly snapped his head to see the man smirking at him. “Oh,” he said, bowing his head slightly. “I didn’t realize I was speaking to royalty.” He nodded to the golden crown resting atop his head. “Forgive me.”

“Eh,” he said, grinning brightly. “I hate all that proper bullshit anyway.”

Gavin smirked and leaned against the wall again, taking another sip of wine. “Great,” he said. “I can relax. Then to whom do I owe the pleasure?”

“King Kovic of the Seven Isles,” he drawled with a pompous accent. “Oh, is the Seven Isles a real place? My mistake if you know the king who rules there.”

Gavin laughed. “Only in the legends.” He looked him up and down. He was rather handsome - short beard, muscular, a Wolf tattooed on his forearm. “I finally get to meet the great Adam Kovic, then? About damn time.”

Adam smiled before leaning back and gazing at the crowd. “I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other, Gavin.” He raised his own goblet to his lips and scanned the party with keen eyes.

“And why is that?” Gavin asked. “I’m married, can’t you tell?”

Adam laughed and waggled his fingers, flashing his own ring.

“So why is it?” Gavin asked. “Don’t leave me hanging like Ryan does.”

Adam thought for a moment before extending his hand for Gavin to take. "Dance with me. Maybe I'll talk."

Gavin rolled his eyes but plopped his own hand in the outstretched one anyway. He was led onto the dance floor, and when Adam put his hand on his waist, they entered a slow waltz.

“You know, Ryan’s a very strategic person,” Adam finally whispered, lowering his lips to Gavin's ear. “The timing of this coronation was no accident.”

“What do you mean by that?” Gavin said, allowing himself to be led by Adam. He couldn't help the goosebumps that went down his neck.

“Tides are turning,” he simply shrugged. “King Ramsey summoned his Storm’s Wrath, the first one since the Great War. But I’m sure you already know that.”

Gavin narrowed his eyes. “Get to the point.”

“You’re smart,” Adam said. “Which means that I shouldn’t tell you this, but I will.”

He spun Gavin around and smiled before continuing.

“Ramsey gained an advantage a few weeks ago,” Adam said. “You were still gone. Ryan wasn’t planning his defenses very well. Needless to say, Geoff captured one of your commanding forts. He caught Ryan with his pants down.”

Gavin paled.

“He contacted Hullum for support, but the old man doesn’t want anything to do with a war. Ramsey probably has Burns as support, they’ve been best friends since birth."

“Oh,” Gavin said.

"That’s where I come in. I'm sure you know that my men are some of the fiercest warriors in the world."

"Of course," Gavin gaped. "I'm not an idiot. They're savages."

“Yup,” Adam said. “I’m not going to beat around the bush like everyone else does. The war is balanced again. You know what that means?”

“It means a fight,” Gavin said.

“But that’s okay, because you’ll win. So long as Ramsey’s men stay in that prison,” he smirked. “There’s no way they’d be able to escape without their weapons, right?”

Gavin's steps faltered. Adam encouraged him to keep dancing, but his movements were forced and unnatural. “You… you know.”

“Of course I do.”

“How?”

“Because I know people, Gavin,” he said. “I can tell what people’s intentions are. You are morally driven. And there are no morals in politics."

“Please don’t tell Ryan,” he whimpered, resting his face against Adam's chest. “You can’t. I’m a traitor.”

“You know that I won’t,” Adam said. “You’ll make a far better King than Ryan ever will. I can’t jeopardize your position.”

Would he really make a good king? He was sure that he could never hold the power that Ryan does, and he knew nothing about being king. Adam knew that, so...

 _Was he trying to manipulate him?_   Gavin tilted his head and squinted his eyes. Everyone has motives. _What were Adam’s motives?_

“Either way,” Adam whispered. “Hell’s Fury hasn’t faced the Storm’s Wrath in centuries. It’s not a guarantee that Ryan will survive, and he knows that. He wants an honorable heir in his place if things get grim.”

Gavin remained silent, letting the gravity of the situation collapse around him. "It's my fault then," he mumbled. "If Ryan dies, I killed him."

Adam just hummed in agreement. The two remained silent, watching the party go on around them. Neither of them were really thinking about the dance.

“Why us, then?” Gavin asked. “Why pick to fight with us, and not for Geoff? He has a better jewel export than we do. There’s nothing our kingdom has to offer.”

“I know I’m supposed to 'cast personal opinions aside,' but,” he started, a dark fire sparking in his eyes. “It’s definitely personal. I want to see that fucker burn to the _ground_."

Gavin nodded. “I suppose can relate to that.”

As the song ended, Adam patted him on the shoulder and stepped away. “That being said, I do enjoy watching Ryan’s insane motives drive this war." He slowly backed away from Gavin, carefully eyeing Ryan stepping back into the ballroom. "And I can see that he's shown you his crazy juice."

“Wait, what does that mean?” Gavin called out after the retreating man. _Did he really look crazy?_

“You can figure that one out for yourself,” he said. “Just don’t let old hubby know exactly what I told you. Pretend you figured it out for yourself.”

He grinned. _He could do that._

"I see you met Kovic," Ryan said, placing a hand on Gavin's shoulder.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Strange fellow."

"What did you guys talk about?"

"I don't really know," Gavin said, turning back to see Ryan. He noticed the tired twinge in his eye; _is that what I look like?_   _Is that was Adam saw?_   "Like I said, strange fellow."

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

The walls of the Ramsey kingdom had never been more inviting.

Michael’s bones shook from the cold rain pouring down his body, and his muscles ached from the weight of the boy in his arms. Ray whimpered quietly in his anything but restful sleep, shielding himself away from the rain under Michael’s shoulder. The arrow sticking out of his leg hadn’t improved in the slightest. Michael would've tried to remove it himself, but he didn't know anything about leg injuries.

Michael whimpered in relief when he saw real, breathing figures. “Hey!” Michael shouted, spotting a guard patrolling the gate. “Over here!”

The guard’s jaw nearly dropped as he caught sight of the boys. He signaled the archers above to stand at ease.

It was no question who they were. They were the cause of their King’s rage fueled storms - the King’s most trusted men, presumably dead.

“Jack,” he barked, tossing the slumped boy into the guard’s open arms. “Take him to Jack. _Now_. That's an order.”

Words couldn’t describe the deep set ache in his muscles. With an achy breath that felt like knives against his throat, he collapsed to his knees.

“Take me to Geoff.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sit tight if you don't understand yet. I'm very excited for these new plot dynamics and characters to show off.  
> Either way, I'd like to know what you guys are thinking. The only way I can tell if you're enjoying something or hating it is to let me know.  
> That being said, huge shoutout to lecizael and everyone who commented! (but lecizael you're my favorite :D)
> 
> Cheers to all of you for reading. I think we've reached 30k words with this one. That's a lot of our time that I've wasted. 
> 
> And onto Phase II we go. <3


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He'd heard many legends in his life - about Kovic's men, and the blades that the gods themselves had granted kings. He'd never imagined that they'd be true, but...
> 
> He wished he didn't learn the one about Kovic's men first. Because now he has a really awkward boner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took me so long <3 I have the next three or so chapters planned out and pretty much ready to go. You'll see why it took me so long when you read this. 
> 
> I promise things will make more sense in the next one.

"Ramsey tower," Ryan said, slamming his fist on the table. "We need to get it back, or we'll never win."

Gavin nodded against the fist he was resting his face on. He tapped his fingers against the large map spread across the table, and gazed at the older man through half lidded eyes.

It would be better if he didn't have to deal with those damn whispers the whole time. He redirected his attention to the sword resting in the middle of the table. Sweet, black wisps leaked from the hilt and stretched towards him. They were like fingers, luring him closer.

They'd dragged him from the middle of his training session and into this _awful_ meeting. To say he was misplaced was an understatement - he still wore his creeper outfit with and leather wraps around his bare feet, while Ryan and Adam were both in their kingswear. There was still mud caked between his toes from the drizzle outside.

"The old man's not suited for war," Adam drawled across from him. Well, scratch the whole "not fitting in" thing. Adam was also extremely out of place - slumped in his chair, prodding his gums with a toothpick. "My archer told me he nailed the assassin in the leg. We can take him and Mogar out of the equation."

Gavin's head shot up at that one. _Did he really?_

"Why Mogar?" Kerry asked. "Wouldn't he be just fine?"

"He's probably exhausted," Adam said, shifting his eyes to Gavin with a smirk. "Only way they got back is if he carried him, if they weren't torn apart by mobs."

"That's some pretty significant information you decided to omit, _Kovic_ ," Ryan snarled. The younger king just shrugged and propped his feet up on the table.

Gavin cringed at the fury in Ryan's eyes. When the king opened his mouth to speak, Gavin interrupted. "That's good, though!" he contributed. He felt heat rise to his cheeks when everyone whipped their heads to the new voice. "Ge- _Ramsey_ ," he corrected, "won't be expecting an attack this soon after a coronation. Michael's exhausted, but he won't be forever. So we need to attack fast."

His heart swelled at the gleam of approval in Ryan's eyes. "He's right."

"So move out on Wednesday," Kerry said. "My men aren't ready yet. Give them about a week to prepare."

"That's not soon enough," the king growled.

"Mine are," Adam grinned, rolling his lax head towards Gavin. "And they're _dying_ to meet Gavin." He had a devious glint in his eye, but Gavin just pouted.

"We can't prepare a full fledged attack with 6 men," Ryan sighed, rubbing his face.

"Not 6," he sang, popping the toothpick out of his mouth and pointing it towards Gavin. "7."

"You're _not_ taking him with you," Ryan growled again. "He's not ready. And I'm not letting your _pack_ run with him. Who knows what they'll do."

"What the bloody _fuck_ do you mean I'm not ready?" Gavin screeched, slamming his hands against the table and rising with anger. "I've been training for nearly 13 years and you've never let me go on a _single_ field mission!"

"You can't win with 7 men," Kerry added quietly.

Gavin huffed and sat down, readjusting the crown on his head. Adam just laughed and leaned closer to Gavin. "You can with mine. As long as you're as good as everyone says you are."

Gavin narrowed his eyes at the King. "I am."

Adam threw his hands up and shrugged again. "How would I know?"

"Enough," Ryan snapped. "Fine. You can move out with Kovic's men, if you must. Kerry, how many men are ready to move now?"

"Only about 10, Your Majesty."

He nodded and scratched his stubble, humming quietly. His eyes darted across the map, from green flags to red ones.

"Your husband is right, Ryan," Adam said with a shit eating grin. "We'll need to move quickly. We may only have a few-."

"Sunday," he cut in. "We move in on Sunday."

" _Sunday?_ " Adam gaped. "Well I'll be damned. You're one spontaneous motherfucker, Ryan."

"That gives us three days to train and practice," Gavin mumbled. "Not to mention plan. I don't even know these blokes, Ryan!"

"You'll make due," he said, face suddenly turning hard. "We'll continue this conversation later."

He frowned at his husband's sudden reservation. "Ryan..."

He followed the king's eyes to the sword resting on the table, and he understood. It was humming louder than it usually did, and flickered with a black flame, calling his name, _beckoning him closer_ -

"Gavin, you may return to training if you wish," Ryan mumbled. The prince jerked his head away to see that his worried gaze was now fixed on Gavin. "I have matters to attend to."

His eyes said it all. _I'll explain later._ With a sharp nod, he couldn't bolt out of his chair and away from the _delicious_ flames any faster.

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

Gavin squinted his eyes and steadied his breath. Before him were 12 targets at different heights and distances.

Even with the steady drizzle blocking his vision, he knew he could hit them with no problem. With a smirk, he readied his bow and took a deep breath. He released the first arrow, and with quick and nimble fingers, he grabbed another from the quiver at his back.

He didn't even need to look to see they were all sticking straight out of the middle. He shot them in record time, and lowered his bow with a grin.

He heard a low whistle behind him, and turned to see 2 men studying him with their arms crossed. "Wow," the one on the right said. His eyes were a bright blue - even brighter than Ryan's. "They were _not_ kidding."

They were shirtless. He couldn't help but bite his lip to keep himself from laughing (or maybe because they turned him on - he didn't know). Black and orange paint stroked in intricate patterns across their chests and faces.

His eyes traced the contours of the blue eyed beast's chest, admiring the way the raindrops slid down his abs. He traced all the way up to his toned pecs and his strong jaw, and heat rose to his cheeks when he made eye contact. He gave an all knowing smirk, like he was used to being stared at.

He tore his eyes away to see the other one, who he was _also_ glad was shirtless. He was slightly taller, and a thick beard framed his face. He wasn't as toned as the other man, but he made up for it in his size.

"You must be Kovic's men," Gavin said with a voice just short of trembling, reaching his hand out for them to shake. "Nice to meet you."

They just looked at each other and bit their lips.

The bearded one hunched over and let out a long wheeze that somewhat resembled a laugh.

"Bruce doesn't do formalities, Gavin," the other man said. Gavin's breath hitched at the sweet sound trailing to his ears.

"Oh," he mumbled, lowering his hand. A blush rose on his cheeks again. "Sorry."

"Don't be," the bearded one - _Bruce?_ \- nearly growled. His voice was rougher compared to the other man.

His knees shook at the growl. It was something primal, _inhuman_ \- and at that moment he noticed they were eyeing him like he was their next meal. He felt his skin catch fire when he saw the lust in their eyes. _Shit._

 

"He's still blushing, James," Bruce chimed again, moving closer. "You think it's because of us?"

Gavin couldn't help but blush even more at the mention of it.

In the same second, they peeled away from each other and slowly moved closer, circling him - _like prey_ , Gavin thought, swallowing around the lump in his throat.

The defensive alarm went off in his head. _Don't let these guys get any closer_ , he scolded himself. _If you do, it would be too easy for them to overpower you._

He locked eyes with James, and felt a fire burn in his stomach. They were so bright, and fueled with an intensity Gavin's never seen before. He felt wrong for looking into them, like he was teasing a creeper to explode in his face. Everything inside of him was telling him to _run, he's going to fucking eat you if you keep looking_ \- so all he could do was drop his head submissively and release a shuddering breath.

"Good boy," James cooed, circling behind him.

_What's happening right now? Who does he think he is?_

"Doesn't Ryan know it's not safe to leave his little Omega unattended?" Bruce chuckled. "Not a very responsible Alpha."

He wanted to open his mouth and ask what the _fuck_ he was talking about - they weren't _wolves_ , they didn't have a pack order. But his mouth stayed glued shut as he was struck with realization.

 _They_ did. _Kovic_ did. _They_ travel in a pack, _their_ Sigil is a Wolf, _they_ worshipped the God of Wolves -

 _They_ had Alphas, and Omegas, and Betas.

"Adam was right," James murmured, moving closer to his neck. "He smells fucking _great_."

Goosebumps raced down his body and straight into his groin. He tried to open his mouth to speak, to ask _why would I smell good?_ or even _back the fuck away before I slice both of your throats_ , but his body betrayed him and all that got through was a choked moan. He mentally slapped himself - this was _not_ supposed to be happening. He had a fucking _husband_.

Still, his head swam from the mask radiating off the men closing around him. They smelled like sex, sweat, and something indescribably sweet. The only thing he could compare it to was Michael.

"Dire blood," the blue eyed one whispered into his neck again, like he was reading his thoughts. "Irresistible, isn't it?"

If he arched into the touch, it wasn't voluntary. He would definitely be kicking himself after this.

"Not as good as his scent," Bruce growled on the other side of him. "How does Adam control himself? He's the ideal Omega."

Gavin's eyes slipped shut and rolled back into his head.

He suddenly felt very _cold_ ; but James was so _warm_. How could he manage being so warm in weather like this? Despite himself, he was relieved when he felt a hand on his waist, warming his body.

He knew he should pull out the dagger at his side and threaten them to back away, but his thoughts escaped him. He was rendered completely useless from the pure sex radiating off these guys.

He felt James chuckle and he whined again.

He'd fought very skilled men, and he'd fought very strong men. But he'd never fought very strong, very skilled men. And if the stories were true, these guys tore their enemies limb from limb with their own hands.

He should feel intimidated. But instead, the pheromones radiating off the legends made him whine with want. Fear and lust battled in his stomach - and lust won.

"What are you doing to me?" he finally choked out. "How?"

"You're so naturally submissive," Bruce said again, still pacing around the two. "You were _born_ to be an Omega."

"'m not," he groaned. It wasn't very convincing, especially with his high pitched whine when he felt lips on his neck.

_stop it Gavin stop it you have a husband you're a hunter you're better than this_

"The most submissive Omega I've seen in my entire life," Bruce hummed. "That's a new record, James."

He suddenly wished he didn't have his gear on.  

He should care. He should really, _really_ care that he wanted this guy to bend him over and fuck him senseless because he had a _husband_ and -

A thought popped into his mind, one that turned his blood cold - _Ryan. what if Ryan sees me?_

He heard a familiar voice behind him.

"What the _fuck_ do you think you're doing?" Adam barked, rage laced into his tone.

Gavin's eyes popped open and he trembled. _He's gonna tell Ryan, fuck, he's gonna tell Ryan that I can't control myself._

But when he saw the King, he wasn't leering at Gavin at all.

James and Bruce stepped back and raised their hands defensively. "I'm sorry," James said, with a grin on his face that didn't nearly stay true to his words. "I couldn't help it."

He felt cold without the man behind him.

"Do you have any _idea_ what would happen if it were Ryan here instead of me?" He snarled. James' grin faltered, but he still wore it defiantly. "He would fucking _eat_ you."

"Good thing it wasn't him," Bruce mumbled, ducking his head in shame.

"Yeah. Good fucking thing," he growled. His eyes turned soft when he turned to the shivering boy. "Come here, Gavin. Are you okay?"

His senses still felt buzzed from the men's proximity, so he just lazily nodded his head and hummed.

He felt Adam pat his back before his face turned hard again. The men suddenly didn't seem so proud of themselves.

"I fucking _told_ you not to talk to him without me. You think you'd be able to control yourself on a _mission_ with him, when I'm not there to stop you? What would've happened if I showed up five minutes later?"

They looked at each other and frowned. "We can't control it like you."

"Control what?" Gavin croaked. He buried his nose in the King's arm. It definitely helped counteract his foggy thoughts.

"My blood," he murmured to the boy. "I can basically control my pheromones."

Gavin wanted to ask why, but Adam continued before he could.

"Do you see why I didn't want you to meet him?" he snarled, the vein in his neck bulging with rage. "Fucking horny bastards. Get out of here before I lose my temper. That's an _order_."

The two bowed their heads respectfully. "Yes, Alpha," they both mumbled. Gavin couldn't ignore the small smirk James gave him before jogging back into the castle.

Gavin turned to step away, but quickly lost his balance and gripped on to Adam's arm. "Easy there," the King cooed. "You okay? I'm sorry about that. Really."

"'s okay," he said. "I just have a really weird boner right now."

Adam laughed and started to lead him towards the castle. "That's why I'm alpha and they're not. They think with the wrong brain."

"What do you mean by 'controlling your pheromones?' Is that why I haven't noticed anything around you?"

"It wouldn't be best if I was strutting around with my scent while _you're_ around," he laughed. "If you submitted to James, imagine what an Alpha would do to you. They're only Betas."

He nodded his head in understanding, but he couldn't help the itching in the back of his mind. "Maybe I want you to let it go," he teased, grinning up at the King.

His steps faltered and his eyes turned dark. "Don't say things like that," he growled. "It's already hard enough as it is to contain myself. You're the most submissive Omega I've ever met."

"Oh," he swallowed. "Why am I an Omega all of a sudden?"

"Just the terms we use," he shrugged, face softening again. "Ryan would be considered your Alpha, and you his mate."

He nodded again.

"Speaking of which," he chimed. "Don't ever mention this to Ryan if you want to go on that mission," he said. "Not only would you never go on another mission in your life, but he'd probably cut ties with us and you'd lose the war."

He felt a weight in his chest. He remembered the King's words:

_You think you'd be able to control yourself on a mission with him, when I'm not there to stop you?_

He should feel nervous because of the words. But some part of him - some sick, twisted part of him that should never see the light of day - was excited. It was the part of him that didn't _want_ Adam to interrupt. 

And he hated himself for it.

 

~~~~~~

 

Michael gazed out below the kingdom on the balcony of the main court. He held a cup of hot cocoa, long sleeves covering his palms.

His muscles still felt weary and he shook with every move, but he raised the mug to his lips anyway.

Michael must've slept for at least 16 hours. After gripping Geoff into a tight hug and explaining the situation with Ray (well, he _thought_ he was explaining. It was probably something more like frantic blubbering) he passed out in the King's arms.

He heard the door behind him open and slide shut again, but he kept his gaze on the torchlit city.

He felt a warmth next to him that only one person could carry. _Geoff_. He smelled like liquor, but it was familiar and Michael loved it. They stared out at the kingdom together in silence.

In the corner of his eye, he saw the man rest his arms on the railing. His sigil seemed like it was glowing in the starlight.

"You heard the news," Geoff murmured. His voice was quiet and fragile, unlike anything Michael thought he'd hear from him. "About Gavin."

Michael hummed and brought the cocoa to his lips. He shivered in the cold.

"Ray told me about your plan," he started again. "To kill Gavin."

Michael tightened his grip on the cup. "So that's why you're here," he finally rasped. "Because I committed mutiny."

Geoff shook his head and laughed, leaning against the railing. "No."

Michael hummed again.

The kingdom really was beautiful, he noticed. He never took much time to admire beauty in things - he was more for functionality over fashion. But it was nice to indulge in simple things, after spending some time in that dungeon.

"Did you hear the bells?" Geoff asked. "Is it official?"

Michael nodded. He took another sip.

"Shit," Geoff said, clasping his hands over the balcony. "So it's over. He's on their side."

Michael's tired eyes widened. He so _desperately_ wanted to tell Geoff about Gavin's assistance in their escape, but...

_"You didn't hear it from me."_

Geoff would get his hopes up. He'd think he had an inside man, and he really didn't. Gavin wouldn't want it either.

Ryan probably showed him the wither flames, and Gavin probably _liked_ it, like the sick fuck Michael knew he really was.

He brushed his fingers across the scar on his neck and shuddered. The flames had felt like shards of glass bubbling in his skin, eating his thoughts and replacing them with black sludge, like his body was rejecting it.

He wondered if Gavin's mind submitted to the flames.

"Yeah," Michael finally decided. "He's on their side."

"Ryan's playing it smart," Geoff said. "Cementing an heir before the fight."

Michael felt eyes burning into the side of his skull, so he finally turned to see Geoff. He had a devious glint in his eye and kept them locked with Michael's.

Michael laughed and turned away from him. "No. Fuck off, Geoff."

"Come _on_ , Michael," Geoff said, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I don't have anyone else to pick. My own son left the kingdom when he was 8, remember?"

"No. I'm not doing it," he smiled. "Shit, I wasn't expecting this conversation in a million years. I thought you'd have it with Ray."

"Ray's a fucking moron," Geoff laughed. "You'd make such a good king."

Michael just smiled harder, dimples and all. "I know. But I don't _wanna_ be a king."

"There doesn't need to fancy ceremony like those Haywood cunts. You just need to sign my last rites," Geoff said. "Plain and simple."

Michael sighed and turned to fully face Geoff, resting his elbow on the rail. "Okay, humor me," he said. "Isn't having Ramsey blood, like, a really big deal? Would I even be _able_ to? Hypothetically speaking, of course. Not that I want to."

"I consider you my son," Geoff said, smile softening. "Always have. That's what counts."

He flinched. "Did you really?"

Geoff nodded and wrung his hands together. "Yeah."

Michael didn't remember his parents. All he knew was that they died from a creeper blast, but he didn't remember it or them. Geoff seemed to go distant whenever he asked about where he was from, so he had no idea where his roots lay.

He smiled again and rolled his eyes. "Fine."

"Fine what?" His eyes glistened with hope.

"Fine. I'll be your fucking king."

Geoff laughed and clapped him on the shoulder, but Michael just blushed and looked down. "Fuck yeah. That's my boy."

"Does this mean I get to use your sword?" He asked, eyes flickering to the blade resting at Geoff's side. "It's so fucking cool."

"Legend has it whoever retrieved it is worthy enough to wield it," he said, slipping it out of its sheath. "Do you want to see if it's true?"

Michael's eyes brightened and thrusted his empty cocoa mug into Geoff's hands. "Gimme," he said, ignoring his muscle's protest.

"Go ahead," he said, handing it to Michael. He grinned when his hand clasped around the hilt.

Whatever happened, he wasn't expecting it.

A surge of energy coursed through his veins - his nerves were a live wire, charged with lightning. The hair on his arms raised on end, and he swiveled the blade in his hand.

Thunder rumbled in the distance.

With each charged breath he took, he could feel the weariness leaking away from his bones, and his vision cloud with silver. He felt a tug in his gut that reached towards the blade.

"Wow," he mumbled.

"It accepted you," Geoff whispered. "It actually accepted you."

"It's true then," he said in awe. "Thunder and Lightning are real."

"I guess so," Geoff grinned. "All hail Prince Michael, am I right?"

His mouth was still hanging open when he traced the blade with his finger. "All hail Prince Michael," he agreed.

 

~~~~~

 

"You know the legends," Ryan said, circling Gavin with the blade in his hands. "They're true."

The boy stood in the middle of their bedroom with his hands gripping the roots of his hair. "Death," he mumbled. "The god of Death granted the first king a blade."

"Very good," Ryan said, teasing the flames around Gavin's head. "And it only responds to Haywood blood." Gavin trailed his head after the flames.

_Shame. What a bloody shame._

"Why did it respond to me?" He whimpered, tightening his grip. The emptiness in his mind was accompanied by whispers this time. They caressed his mind and _begged_ him to submit, like an itch he needed to scratch. His skin turned hot, blood boiling inside of him.

"I think you know the answer," he said, grabbing his hips.

"I retrieved it," he whimpered. "I got the blade myself."

Ryan just chuckled and brushed his lips against Gavin's neck. "But it responded so _well_ ," he murmured, latching his lips onto the soft skin. "Surely there must be some Haywood blood in your system."

Gavin felt his stomach drop. "Joel's potions." It all made sense - the whispering, the stomachaches. _He drank Ryan's fucking blood._

It was nasty - truly disgusting. He should be furious with the King, but the whispers hushed his thoughts and all of a sudden he was thankful.

"Hmm. But look at where it got you. Now you have Haywood blood _and_ you retrieved it yourself."

"Ryan," he whined, pulling harder. "Just let me feel it again." _I need it I need it I need it I need it I need it I need it_ "I need it. I need to feel it again."

The whispers grew angry.

"Give in," Ryan whispered, offering him the blade. "Don't fight it anymore."

With a pained whimper, Gavin gripped the hilt and let go of what little self control he had.

He felt his fingertips drain warmth from where they connected, and the flames traveled up his veins like vines. It traveled to his heart, and up his neck, and -

His eyes rolled into the back of his head for the second time that day.

It _hurt_. It hurt in the best way possible and it made him whimper in defeat - claws shredding against his brain, infiltrating his thoughts, tearing apart everything he held dear. The whispers in his head silenced; the ticks from the redstone clock had silenced, Ryan's comforting whispers silenced.

Instead, he heard rushing, like his head was dunked under a waterfall. Blood. It was blood. A beautiful crimson red that flooded his mouth with copper.

He felt his veins fill with those black flames, frying out whatever he had inside of him and replacing it with sludge. He realized now that calling them wither flames was not anywhere near what they really represented - this was the essence of Death himself.

He wanted to scream at the pain, but he also really didn't. It morphed into something enjoyable, something his mind curled into and broke underneath. It was pleasant.

Instead, he giggled.

He fell to his knees and dropped the blade, curling into a ball. But the blood still boiled in his mind, and he just kept giggling.

The gentle caress slowly faded away, and he was left panting on the carpeted floor. He finally opened his eyes to see Ryan looking down at him with wide eyes.

"He's inside me, Ryan," he drawled, eyes widening. "Death is in my veins."

All Ryan could do was grin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aaaand with that, Gavin is officially off his rocker :D
> 
> I know it seems out of place and kinda awkward, but the part with Funhaus plays a HUGE part in the next few chapters. I swear it's not just a lil side thing and it won't last forever so just trust me <3 
> 
> Let me know if you made it this far :D


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